Tragic Circumstance
by Kamarine
Summary: .Completed. The children of Balamb's heroes struggle to make their own way and names for themselves. Rated for some language.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer - Squaresoft characters belong to Square etc. But the children belong to their respective owners. This disclaimer will cover the whole story, I really don't like adding it to the top of every chapter.  
  
~Prologue - Sixteen years earlier~  
  
  
  
  
  
Rinoa strapped her eighteen-month-old daughter, Fureya, into the baby capsule in   
  
the back of the car. After double-checking everything was safe and secure, she   
  
shut the door firmly and turned to face her husband, her brown eyes sparkling.   
  
"Let me drive, Squall?" She pleaded with a sunny smile. Squall shrugged and   
  
tossed her the keys, a small smile playing across his lips.   
  
They were going to pick up five-year-old Kaddar from his first day of school. Squall   
  
Leonhart was still the commanding officer of Balamb Garden, which situated the   
  
nearest primary school at Balamb Town, thirty minutes drive away.   
  
The drive was a quiet one, soft pop music coming from the radio and baby Fureya   
  
gurgling to herself in the backseat.   
  
The screeching of tyres sliced through the silence as a larger automobile careened   
  
straight for them, wildly out of control.   
  
Panicking Rinoa wrenched the steering whee across and stomped down hard on   
  
the pedal. But to her dismay, she found she had been thrown off by jolt of the   
  
sudden turn and had effectively stomped the accelerator pedal.   
  
Propelling forward, the car bounced and slid over uneven gravel and grazed past a   
  
tree, which buckled the driver's side door and sent the car flying even more off   
  
course. Rinoa let out a strained yelp as fiery pain shot up one of her legs following   
  
a snap. With a painful struggle, Rinoa forced the brake pedal down with her good   
  
leg.   
  
The car slid across the terrain and came to a halt, teetering over the sharp edge   
  
of a cliff. The car was so silent that the waves could be heard slapping the cliff   
  
face below.   
  
"Oh Hyne." Rinoa whispered hoarsely as Fureya started to cry.  
  
"Rinny?" Rinoa turned to look at Squall as he spoke, noting the iron set calm on   
  
his face. "We've got to get out of here. I'm going to slide out and get Fureya, and   
  
then I want you to carefully get out. It's going to be okay, Angel? I promise."   
  
Rinoa nodded numbly and undid her seat belt, gasping softly as the car slid   
  
forward a little. The movement had jolted her injured leg and as she looked down   
  
noting its strange angle, she realized it was broken.   
  
"Squall." Rinoa rasped, tears pricking her dark eyes. "I can't." Squall looked across   
  
at her, his face still calm.   
  
"Please don't be afraid, Rinny." He murmured soothingly. "It's going to be okay   
  
Angel." Rinoa shook her head, wincing as the car slid even further over the edge.   
  
"My legs broken. I can't move." She whispered softly. Hearing her, even over the   
  
screaming infant in the backseat, Squall sharply drew in a breath.   
  
"I'll get Fureya and then help you. Don't worry Rinny Angel, all will be okay, I   
  
promise." Although Squall's tone was firm, his voice shook as a wave of rising fear   
  
overtook him.   
  
Slowly and ever so carefully, Squall climbed out of the car and pried the back door   
  
open and removed his daughter from the car. Without thinking, he raced around   
  
the side, his infant daughter still cradled in his arms. Yanking on the door handle in   
  
a futile attempt to open the door, he noticed the tree had buckled it. Looking   
  
down at Fureya, he bit his lip and moved a few metres away from the car and cliff   
  
face and set her down gently on a patch of grass. Turning to go help Rinoa, he   
  
heard the car groan as it pitched forward over the edge of the cliff and into the   
  
waiting ocean.   
  
Squall let out a cry of anguish as he crumpled to his knees, ignoring the insistent   
  
cries of his daughter. 


	2. To run and to hide

~Present – Chapter one~  
  
Cloudy grey eyes followed the articulate movements of her brother as he went   
  
through a complex battle dance. Kaddar skipped forward and thrust out with his   
  
father's blade and danced off to the side, supposedly out of an opponents range.   
  
Fureya frowned slightly, her brow wrinkling in thought as she shook her head with   
  
disgust. In her opinion Kaddar is too flashy with his swordplay; it hardly seemed   
  
practical. She climbed to her feet and scrubbed her sweaty palms dry on her   
  
tunic.   
  
"Kaddar!" She called. "Fight ya." Kaddar looked down his nose at his younger sister   
  
and shrugged.   
  
Fureya smiled grimly and drew her blade, eyes steel grey with resolve.   
  
As per usual, the battle is a quick one with Fureya coming out the victor. As she   
  
expected, people congratulated Kaddar on being so noble and letting his little   
  
sister beat him.   
  
Fureya's temper broke and she stormed into the house, slamming the door behind   
  
her.   
  
She is so sick of being 'Kaddar's little sister' and told 'you're just a girl, leave the   
  
swordplay to the men!'.   
  
  
  
Living in Deling City with her father and brother is hardly Fureya's piece of cake.   
  
She was always forgotten, and trod all over. Her only joy is when she poses as a   
  
boy and snuck into the Galbadian Army training ranks. She pulls of such a feat by   
  
pining her lengthy raven locks up under a hat and binding her small breasts flat   
  
with a special corset.   
  
Fureya stands at five foot and seven inches with a sinewy muscled frame that   
  
disguised her feminine curves. Her long raven hair that reached her shoulder blades   
  
was her pride; she's seen many photos of her mother with long raven locks. So by   
  
having the same hair, she feels closer to her dead mother. She has her fathers   
  
stormy grey eyes framed by long dark lashes.   
  
  
  
Sighing softly, Fureya stared down at a tatty and worn old 'Balamb Garden'   
  
pamphlet. More than anything, Fureya wished to go there and train to be a SeeD.   
  
She'd petitioned her father over and over to no avail, he refused to let her go. So   
  
now, she is going to run away and go without his permission. Even if meant that   
  
sacrifices would be necessary.   
  
  
  
Digging her prized dagger out of her underwear drawer, she slowly started to hack   
  
off her long raven locks. The end result was a boyish looking Fureya with short   
  
black hair. It was longer at the top and to her dismay she noted it sat almost   
  
identical to the way her fathers did. (Something Kaddar could never achieve.)   
  
Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Fureya stared at her reflection in a   
  
mirror and threw her shoulders back and put her chin up.   
  
"Balamb Garden, here I come." She muttered.   
  
  
  
~*~  
  
-Two years earlier-  
  
Seifer stared down at his daughter in exasperation.   
  
"Keladryie Almasy." He growled, crossing his arms across his chest. "I sent you to   
  
school under the pretence that you would learn, not maul the male population." He   
  
narrowed his sombre emerald gaze as his fifteen-year-old daughter shrugged.   
  
"I don't want to learn about Ancient Rome. I don't want to learn about   
  
Shakespeare!" Keladryie's voice was rising with each word as she worked herself   
  
into a familiar temper. "I want to learn the tactics of mounting an attack against   
  
an enemy. I want to learn how to be unbeatable with one weapon while being   
  
adept at many others! I want to the arts of defence! I want to go to Balamb   
  
Garden!"   
  
Seifer rubbed his forehead and sighed. As of late, this argument is way too familiar   
  
and it was starting to grate his frazzled nerves. Keladryie would muck up at school   
  
and then come home and blast him about wanting to be at Balamb Garden.   
  
"Fine! Go!" Seifer groaned, relenting. Mikola snickered softly at this sight; she'd   
  
seen this coming. Seifer shot her a dark stare and Mikola grinned wickedly at him.   
  
"Thank you Daddy!" Keladryie called as Seifer stalked down the hall to the back   
  
door.  
  
~ Present ~  
  
Fureya shrugged her bag onto her shoulder and exited the headmistresses' office.   
  
It had been years since she had seen her 'Auntie' Quistis and she was thankful for   
  
such, Quistis hadn't recognized her niece. She hummed a little ditty and wandered   
  
off to the tailors to get her required uniform whilst she tried not to gape at the   
  
sights of the Garden.   
  
Grunting at the seamstress as her measurements were taken, she changed into a   
  
uniform and shoved a bundle more into her bag. She was almost thankful that she   
  
didn't have to wear the girl's uniform; Fureya was not at all fond of skirts.   
  
Dumping her small pile of uniforms and her travel bag in her designated dorm, she   
  
started to explore the Garden.   
  
  
  
Wandering, it wasn't long before Fureya got a feel for the Garden layout. Proud of   
  
herself she silently congratulated herself, letting her mind wander for a few   
  
minutes. Not really paying attention to where she was headed, she smacked into a   
  
taller girl with dark red hair.   
  
"Sorry." Fureya grunted as she tried to duck away from the stranger.   
  
"Your new, aren't ya boy?" The girl called curiously, noting she'd never seen him   
  
around before. Fureya grunted and shrugged in agreement. "What's your name at   
  
least?" She prodded, raising an eyebrow at Fureya.   
  
"Furei Hanover." Fureya lied, trying to work her body into a manlier pose. "Who are   
  
you?"   
  
"Keladryie Almasy." The redheaded girl stated primly causing Fureya's eyebrows to   
  
shoot up. This was the daughter of Seifer Almasy, her father's rival. Squall had   
  
told Kaddar and Fureya many tales from his past involving Seifer, and none of   
  
them said any good about him.   
  
"Almasy as in Seifer Almasy?" She blurted, unguarded disgust flashing across her   
  
features for a moment. Kella noticed the look instantly a flash of irritation running   
  
through her. Nothing annoyed her more than some moron preaching to her about   
  
her father's evils, and for similar reason she hated Squall's children even though   
  
she'd never met them. She blamed him and them in turn for her fathers disgrace.   
  
"Yeah. What's it to you?" She snapped irritably. "Let me guess, you believe Seifer   
  
to be some unholy devil and idolize Leonhart?" Keladryie narrowed her blazing   
  
emerald eyes at the silent pensive youth before her.   
  
"You could say that. I just know that Seifer Almasy is scum, I'd hoped his   
  
daughter was different, but after meeting you I realize how sadly mistaken I am!"   
  
Growled Fureya as she clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white.   
  
Seifer's daughter smirked at her and shrugged as if she didn't care. "Whatever."   
  
She snorted and turned on her heel and stalked off, leaving behind an irritated   
  
Fureya.   
  
  
  
Fureya was interrupted from her murderous thoughts as the door into her shared   
  
dorm opened to admit her supposed roommate. The tall youth that just entered   
  
look down at the scrap of male Fureya portrayed.   
  
"Fresh meat." He grinned. "Pity your not female, always looking for new women."   
  
Fureya stared up at him in disbelief as he let out a gentle chuckle. "The name's   
  
Willard Trepe." He made a face as he mentioned his name before continuing. "Most   
  
people call me Shark, for reasons' you may or may not find out later. What's your   
  
name?" Fureya grinned up at Will, and held out her hand and shook his hand,   
  
noting the warmth of his hand.   
  
"Furei Hanover." She said in a low gruff voice. Will grinned again and punched her   
  
in the shoulder. "I'll introduce to the other guys and show you to the women of   
  
this place." A thought struck Fureya as Will proceeded to drag her out of the   
  
dorm. Willard Trepe… That meant he was Quistis son, which meant she'd met him   
  
before. He'd hit on her as twelve year old and she'd proceeded to punch him in the   
  
nose. Cringing at the memory, she hoped they got along better this time.   
  
  
  
  
  
Keladryie tramped into her dorm and slammed the door, making her roommate,   
  
Vivienne startle and jump.   
  
"Jeez, Kella. Have some thought for the rest of us." She teased lightly before   
  
noting the stormy expression on her face. "What's up?" Keladryie turned and faced   
  
Vivienne, with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "I met some moronic little   
  
twerp of a boy who dared to tell me that my father was scum and that I was just   
  
like him!" Keladryie was only mildly surprised she was sharing this with her   
  
roommate, but she just had to the urge to complain to someone about the   
  
annoying brat she'd met. "I swear I'm going to beat him into oblivion if he ever   
  
pulls such stupidity again." Keladryie grumbled in a promising tone as Vivienne   
  
shook her head slowly, her eyes sparkling with silent laughter. 


	3. The truth of the past

~ Chapter two~  
  
Fureya stood at the head of the class, next to the Instructors desk and computer   
  
console, as Instructor Whippet questioned her about her previous knowledge and   
  
experience. As Fureya answered him to the best of her knowledge, she scanned   
  
the classroom. To her chagrin she found the Keladryie was present in her class,   
  
but was equally as relieved to find her roommate was also present.   
  
When Whippet was finished with her, she went and sat down next to Willard and   
  
fiddled with the computer.   
  
It wasn't long til Whippet bombarded them with the Garden's history; surprisingly   
  
enough Fureya was intrigued by the mention of her father.  
  
"Cid and Edea Kramer were the original founders of Balamb with the financial help   
  
of Norg of course, but that was found to be mistake at a later date when Norg   
  
tried to take over Balamb. Squall Leonhart with the help of Rinoa Heartily, Quistis   
  
Trepe, Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmet and Zell Dincht quickly removed him and his   
  
servants from the Garden premises. It was roughly about that time that Cid Kramer   
  
handed Squall the reigns to Balamb by appointing him Commander." This was news   
  
to Fureya, Squall had never mentioned being in charge of Balamb not once.   
  
Intrigued even more, she sat upright paying close attention. "Squall was one of   
  
the best SeeD members around, so naturally he was an excellent choice for   
  
Commander. Without his help, Balamb Garden would of perished when Sorceress   
  
Edea attacked the Garden and possibly when Seifer Almasy attacked Balamb with   
  
the help of Galbadia Garden. After the execution of Sorceress Ultimecia, things for   
  
the garden were very slow, with no great threat seeing as there was only one   
  
sorceress known. But as well known, Sorceress Rinoa was kept on the straight and   
  
narrow, but since her death, no one knew where her powers went. You see, when   
  
Sorceresses die, they pass their powers on. A lot of people claimed and still do,   
  
that her daughter Fureya gained the power to wield the sorceresses' gift, but   
  
Squall denies it completely saying that she has never shown sign of such. Getting   
  
back to Balamb, after the death of Squalls wife, Rinoa, he stepped down as   
  
Commander of Balamb. Headmistress Trepe took over from her comrade and has   
  
been in charge since then." Whippet concluded and punched a few buttons on his   
  
computer console. "I've prepared a pop quiz to make sure all I said sunk in. You   
  
have half an hour to complete it."   
  
The majority of the class groaned in unison and began to read the text that had   
  
appeared on their screen. Fureya however stared blankly at it. Her head was   
  
spinning with a mix of confusion and rage; her father was at one stage commander   
  
of Balamb and her mother a Sorceress! And not only that, she was believed to be   
  
the heir to her mothers sorceress gift. Any guilt she possessed about leaving home   
  
diminished and she set about her work with renewed determination.   
  
Keladryie rolled her eyes, but remained silent during the teachers spiel. She knew   
  
that even though what Whippet had said was technically true, he was looking at it   
  
from Squalls point of view. She believed her father had justification for what he   
  
did, and she would always stand by it. After Whippet had finished his lecture,   
  
Keladryie had glanced across at Furei for a reason unbeknownst to her. She was   
  
surprised by the look of disbelief and surprise on his face. Obviously he'd heard   
  
things about Squall differently and that thought made Kella smile smugly.   
  
Without realizing it, she'd been staring at him too long and Willard had noticed.   
  
Kella sneered at him elegantly as he winked at her before turning her attention   
  
back to her own computer, feeling slightly embarrassed. As she mechanically filled   
  
out the questionnaire on the Garden's history, she silently berated herself for   
  
paying the newcomer too much attention. Still, even after the horrific self-lecture,   
  
she still couldn't shake the feeling she was connected to him somehow and it   
  
aggravated her.   
  
With a furious tap on the 'send' button, she mailed her completed quiz to   
  
Instructor Whippet and leant back in her chair.  
  
"You are excused Miss Almasy." Whippet said in a grim tone. Keladryie stood up   
  
and switched her console off.  
  
"Thank you, Instructor Whippet." She said cordially and exited the classroom.  
  
Fureya was surprised when Keladryie spoke; her voice was different from their   
  
previous meeting. Keladryie's voice had been rough and her vocabulary seemed   
  
limited, but in the classroom her voice had been courteous and seemed almost   
  
upper class. Shrugging, she finished her quiz and sent it to Whippet, who also told   
  
her she was dismissed and to go visit the weapons mistress. Nodding and thanking   
  
him, Fureya rose to her feet and nodded discreetly at Willard who'd murmured for   
  
her to wait outside for him.   
  
Shifting her weight from foot to foot as her grey gaze took in the hallway for the   
  
tenth time. Two other students had been released since she'd left. Finally Willard   
  
came out and grinned at her.  
  
"I'll take you to the weapons mistress. She'll make you have a bash with every   
  
weapon before she hands you one. Something about making sure the primary   
  
weapon is in fact the one your most adept at. I have my mother's knack for the   
  
chain whip, but I refused to tote such a girlish weapon around. The weapons   
  
mistress gave me detention for a week for being sexist, but I managed to get the   
  
katana as my primary weapon." He paused and looked down at Fureya. "What are   
  
you best with?" Fureya grinned and shrugged.  
  
"Wouldn't really know. But I've fought with swords, long and short; glaives; and   
  
gun blades." She paused a second before deciding to it was manly to boast. "You   
  
know Kaddar Leonhart?" She said smugly. Willard nodded as the walked.  
  
"He's the best at gun blades I've heard, a real hand at it like his father." Willard   
  
murmured thoughtfully. "You see, Trepe's and Leonharts go way back. I even   
  
know Kaddar's kid sister, sprightly little thing." Fureya bristled slightly at mention   
  
of her, but shook it off.  
  
"I've beaten him every time I fought him, gunblade on gunblade." She said   
  
casually, as if were no big deal. Will laughed at her and punched her in the arm.  
  
"Whatever you say, mate." He grinned and shoved her through the weapons   
  
mistresses door. "A skinny little weed like you? Beat Kaddar? Not likely." Willard let   
  
out a roar of laughter as Fureya turned bright red and opened her mouth to retort.  
  
"I should of known." Came a cracked feminie voice. "Only Willard Trepe would   
  
waltz in without out knocking and like he owned the place." Fureya turned to stare   
  
at a short dark haired woman.   
  
"My mother owns the place." Willard said impishly. "Including your wizened grumpy   
  
ass." Fureya blinked as the older woman just rolled her hazel eyes.   
  
"New boy?" She said, her dark eyes sizing Fureya up. Fureya shifted slightly and   
  
nodded.  
  
"The name's Furei Hanover." She stated gruffly, slightly intimidated by this woman.   
  
The woman grinned wickedly.  
  
"Your name means nothing to me, especially when you're a weed like yourself.   
  
Prove yourself with a weapon and we'll talk." Fureya grimaced and nodded, was   
  
going to be a long morning.   
  
Keladryie padded silently through the training grounds, unafraid of what was   
  
stalking through the leafy bushes. When Kella had first arrived at Balamb, she'd   
  
been so overconfident of her skills that she'd gone into the training ground   
  
unaccompanied. Her excitement had been short lived after running into a T-rexuar.   
  
Keladryie was lucky to come out with a single scar that ran parallel to her spine   
  
and a months worth of detentions for her blatant disregard for the rules. She still   
  
shuddered at the memory of her parent's fury when they had found out. The pair   
  
of them had come to Balamb just to furiously lecture her and chastise her.   
  
After battling a few bite bugs and running a few laps of the training centre as well   
  
as slaughtering a few careless gnats, Kella decided enough was enough for now   
  
and wandered back out of the training centre.  
  
Sheathing her weapon and wiping the sweat off of her brow, she headed back to   
  
the dorms to shower and change.   
  
Half an hour later, her stomach grumbled telling her it was near lunchtime. Her wet   
  
hair pulled back in to a ponytail and dressed in a fresh uniform for the afternoon's   
  
lessons, Kella headed for the cafeteria.   
  
Her slightly good mood evaporated when she noticed the new kid and the   
  
headmistress's son in front of her, obviously with the same plan. Sighing irritably,   
  
she conveniently paused to take a drink from one of the water fountains that   
  
dotted the corridors. After a long pause, she continued on walking slowly and   
  
hoping to put enough distance between her and the two morons in front.   
  
When she did finally enter the cafeteria, she begrudgingly lined up for food, whilst   
  
thinking how life had been simpler before the new kid had arrived. Ever since he'd   
  
got here, she'd think about him and it aggravated her. Pausing for a moment, she   
  
realized how stupid it sounded; a mere unheard of boy from nowhere had made her   
  
aggravated. Letting out a soft whoop of laughter, startling those around her, she   
  
picked up her tray of food and walked over to where she and Vivienne normally   
  
sat.   
  
To her dismay, she found the two morons there as well. Will was obviously having   
  
another shot at picking up Vivienne and from the flustered look on Vivi's face, she   
  
didn't want the attention.  
  
Striding over there, Keladryie slammed her plate down on the table and stared at   
  
Willard.  
  
"Are you deaf Trepe? She said no." She drawled and sat down, ignoring Fureya.   
  
Willard turned his attention to Keladryie.  
  
"Why if it isn't Keladryie Almasy, don't you look the picture of feminie delicate   
  
beauty." He murmured, his voice dripping with false charm.   
  
"Go away, Trepe. I think I hear your mother calling." Keladryie sighed and turned   
  
away. Willard smiled sweetly at the back of her head and winked at Vivienne   
  
before walking off with a silent Fureya trailing behind him.  
  
Kella looked at Vivienne with a grim smile.  
  
"Why didn't you just tell him to shut up and go away?"  
  
Fureya laughed, drawing a strange look from Willard.  
  
"You laugh like a girl." He stated raising an eyebrow. Fureya blushed and punched   
  
him in the arm fiercely.  
  
"Shut up you skirt chaser." Willard grinned and shrugged.  
  
"What can I say? I like women." He laughed and shook his head. "Come on. Let's   
  
eat, we got weapons after lunch."   
  
Fureya grimaced.   
  
"More weapons?" Will laughed again, but this time at her and nodded. 


	4. Naginata

~Chapter three~  
  
It was a fortnight before news hit Balamb of Squall's missing daughter. The buzz of   
  
gossip was everywhere; spreading rumours that got wilder and wilder. Some of   
  
them, Fureya found humorous like the one that claimed she'd run away to live with   
  
the President of Esthar. (Which was another fact unbeknownst to her, she had no   
  
clue that Laguna Loire was her Grandfather. Since Rinoa's death Squall had gone   
  
into lock down and kept things from his children.) There was one particular rumour   
  
though; it squeezed at her heart every time she heard it. Some unknowing person   
  
had claimed that Squall had gone crazy and killed his daughter, because people   
  
seemed to believe he blamed Fureya for Rinoa's death. They say if Squall hadn't   
  
been pulling her out of the car, he could of got Rinoa out.  
  
Rumours are rumours and Fureya was determined to let them fade out and become   
  
yesterday's news. Above all, she was worried about the attention. She had no   
  
desire to be found out, she loved it here, even if Almasy made it hard.   
  
Speaking of Keladryie, the somewhat evil Weapons Mistress Kumara had assigned   
  
them to be partners in combat. Mistress Kumara was a firm believer in opposite sex   
  
partners and hard work. Her motto was literally 'work harder' and she drove the   
  
cadets to breaking point and back. But at the end of the day, they were better   
  
fighters for it.   
  
After her stint with the Weapons Mistress, Fureya had been deemed fit to carry a   
  
Naginata or a sword. After thought, Fureya chose to arm herself with the Naginata   
  
as her primary weapon but also armed herself with a short sword and a handful of   
  
small daggers.  
  
Mistress Kumara told her she would supply a Naginata but not the other weapons.   
  
After closely inspecting the weapon offered, Fureya declined it smugly and   
  
proclaimed she had a weapon of finer quality and in better condition. Mistress   
  
Kumara took this as personal offence and demanded that she herself inspect the   
  
weapon. Fureya agreed and raced off, grinning smugly to herself knowing full well   
  
the Weapons Mistress would find no fault with her weapon.  
  
Fureya trotted back her weapon on presentation.  
  
It was a five foot long oak staff with its foot shod in iron. The eighteen inch long   
  
blade was broadly curved with blue ripples under its brightly polished surface, a   
  
sign of quality steel.   
  
The Weapons Mistress could hardly keep the admiration off of her face, even if   
  
she did wonder how a boy could have such a fine weapon.  
  
"It'll do." She said gruffly and thrust it back at him. "Leave it in your locker, I wont   
  
have weapons out of the training ground." Fureya bowed, her hand wrapped   
  
around the stout wood.  
  
"Yes, Weapons Mistress." She murmured obediently and left.  
  
~*~  
  
A few days later at weapons class the class was split into pairs for some freestyle   
  
fighting. Fureya and Keladryie faced each other and bowed politely, it was a   
  
custom the Kumara enforced before each fight.   
  
Fureya gripped the shaft of the oak weapon with hands that were wrapped with   
  
bandaging. In her years with the Naginata, she'd found the binding had improved   
  
her grip, but she wasn't sure why. Thrust in her belt was her short sword, which   
  
was made of similar steel to her Naginata. (Thanks to her brother's love of   
  
weapons, Fureya had been able to steal a small amount of finely made weapons.)  
  
Across from her stood a poised Keladryie with a Hyperion model gun blade that   
  
shone brightly, showing signs of polishing and care. Also thrust in her belt was   
  
weighted throwing blades.  
  
"Guard." They murmured in unison before Keladryie skipped forward, thrusting her   
  
blade towards Fureya's midsection who swung her glaive in an arc bringing the   
  
bladed end down to defer the gunblade, sending it off to the side. Adjusting her   
  
feet, Fureya quickly assumed the stance to prepare to attack Keladryie with a   
  
move named furiage-kote-uchi. Fureya swung the Naginata over her head and   
  
brought it down at an angle so it sliced down towards Keladryie's wrist, forcing her   
  
to take a step backwards in order to fend off the attack. Fureya quickly assumed   
  
the hasso-no-kamae stance with the glaive held upright and at a slight diagonal.   
  
Keladryie gritted her teeth and advanced on Fureya, darting forward and pulling a   
  
weighted blade from her belt and thrusting it up to block the downswing of the   
  
Naginata as the point of her gunblade snaked up to press against the base of her   
  
throat.   
  
Fureya grimaced as Keladryie smugly withdrew her weapon, obviously gloating over   
  
her victory. Fureya sighed and lowered her weapon and bowed stiffly at her   
  
opponent.   
  
"Very well fought." She muttered as Keladryie bowed in return, whilst thrusting her   
  
weighted blade back into her belt.  
  
"Very good, the pair of you." Mistress Kumara drawled, coming up to the pair. "A   
  
foolish slip up Master Hanover. You should always be aware of what your   
  
opponents' hands are doing at all times. You would have seen her grasping her   
  
blade and been able to manoeuvre around it." Pausing as she turned to face   
  
Keladryie. "Miss Almasy, you should know better than to thrust from a distance   
  
when your opponent possesses a weapon with a longer range. It's chancy and   
  
most of the time will be knocked aside." Without another word, she walked over to   
  
another pair and blandly pointed out their flaws.  
  
The class continued with everyone working on different pattern dances performed   
  
with the primary weapons. After demonstrating her own perfectly, the gruff   
  
teacher began to teach her a more complex one.  
  
By the end of the day, Fureya's arms were aching and she was exhausted.   
  
Plodding monotonously towards the cafeteria, her mind was far away going   
  
through the afternoon's classes. She was replaying the fight with Keladryie,   
  
picking it to pieces as she walked.  
  
She was rudely interrupted when she smacked into something warm and solid.  
  
"Oof." Grunted the tall guy she'd bumped into. Looking up at him, she grinned and   
  
shrugged.  
  
"Sorry mate." She growled in a gruff tone. He just shrugged and ran a hand   
  
through his black locks that reached half way down his neck. Staring at her for a   
  
moment, recognition glinted in his dark green eyes.  
  
"I know you. You're Will's friend, Furei?" At her nod, he continued. "I'm Garret   
  
Dalmasso." He grinned as they line up for food.   
  
"What!" Rang out a shrill male voice. "There are no hot dogs left? What is the   
  
meaning of this! " Fureya blinked and stared a the blond youth that stormed out of   
  
the cafeteria.   
  
"That's Dincht. His father, Zell was the same." Garret said as they picked up their   
  
trays of food and went and sat down.   
  
Quickly wolfing down their food, they left the cafeteria to go to Garret's dorm so   
  
he could show Fureya some wicked cool video game he had.  
  
~*~  
  
Weeks passed quickly with the cadets taking in their lessons and slowly getting   
  
better at each subject. There was roughly six months before the task, which   
  
would either make them SeeD members or give them another year of study. For   
  
some it was make it or break it, Garden By-laws stated that if you hadn't made   
  
SeeD by age of twenty, you were excluded from the program.   
  
In weapons class, Keladryie and Fureya had been split up after their battle and   
  
hadn't fought since.  
  
It was Sunday, which meant a day off for the hard working students. Fureya,   
  
Willard, Garret and Zell Dincht's son, Macen piled into one of the Garden's cars and   
  
headed for Balamb town. Willard had got his mother to agree to lend them a car   
  
under the pretence they needed to buy more civilian clothing. A somewhat   
  
sceptical Quistis had reluctantly agreed and off they set.   
  
In the car, Fureya was seated next to Willard, close enough to feel the warmth   
  
radiating off of his body. Suddenly shy and at a loss for words, she turned her   
  
grey eyes to the window. An ocean met her gaze, spreading out for miles and   
  
sparkling under the sunlight.  
  
"That's the ocean that killed the last sorceress." Macen spoke up softly, causing   
  
everyone to look at the ocean and then him questioningly. Clearing his throat   
  
gently, he spoke up again.  
  
"That ocean took Rinoa Heartily-Leonharts life. Back when Squall was in charge of   
  
Balamb, him, his wife and his daughter went into town to pick up Kaddar. But on   
  
the way, a drunk driver lost control of his vehicle and drove them off the road.   
  
They then careened over the field and ended up teetering over a cliff edge. Squall   
  
and his daughter got out, but Rinoa's leg was broken. She was driving you see. So   
  
before Squall could get her out, the car slid over the edge and into the ocean."   
  
Fureya stared at him for a long moment before turning to look at the calm ocean   
  
once more.   
  
"That's awful." She rasped, gulping as she tore her gaze away from the thing that   
  
ripped her mother from her.  
  
"Did you know Rinoa?" Willard queried softly, noting the pained look on her face.   
  
Fureya stared at him for a moment before shaking her head.  
  
"No."  
  
~*~  
  
Keladryie tapped the end of her pen against her workbook and let out a frustrated   
  
sigh. Plonking her pen down on her book, she stood up and stretched lazily. This   
  
work was boring and Sunday was boring. Not to mention the training facilities were   
  
shut down for some reason. The stupid headmistress didn't even give a reason.   
  
That meant Keladryie was forced to do left over homework instead of physical   
  
training.   
  
"I'm going for a walk." Kella murmured to a sleepy looking Vivienne. Vivienne perked   
  
up, rousing herself slightly.  
  
"Let me come to. It's dead boring here." Kella nodded in response and the pair set   
  
out to prowl the Garden for something to do.  
  
Peeking into the library, they got caught by the librarian who eagerly volunteered   
  
them to sort through newspaper clippings and put them in alphabetical order.  
  
Sighing heavily, the pair went to it, deciding there wasn't anything else to do   
  
anyway. To their surprise, the found it to be interesting and picked up titbits of all   
  
gossip.  
  
Vivienne picked up a slightly yellowing clipping.  
  
"Hey, this is Kaddar Leonhart." She murmured and peered closely at the picture as   
  
Keladryie rolled her eyes in a 'who cares' gesture. "You know." Started Vivienne   
  
slowly, catching Kella's wandering attention.  
  
"What?" She asked, glancing over at the clipping.  
  
"Kaddar is the same age as Furei in this picture and there's a hell of a likeness.   
  
Take a look." Vivienne passed the picture to Keladryie who studied it and shrugged   
  
before putting it in the correct pile.   
  
"Probably just a bastard son of Squall after he slept around." She grumbled and   
  
picked up another clipping. "Hey look." She drawled and thrust it at Vivi. "It's your   
  
father." Vivienne stared at it.  
  
"How unsurprising." She winked at Kella and placed it in its rightful pile.  
  
"Yeah, yeah I know." Keladryie retorted. Vivienne's father was the mayor of Deling   
  
City, so he was always out and about. Even though Vivienne's father was anti –   
  
Seifer, the pair had struck up a tight bond. They weren't exactly close, but they   
  
were friends and that was good enough for them. Seeing as Keladryie wasn't the   
  
easiest person to share a dorm with, Vivienne had always been her dorm partner.   
  
Kella had forced many out, with her strange ways that came off hostile. Of course,   
  
a lot of people looked down on her for being an Almasy, which was never a good   
  
thing. But things were okay now. And for that, Headmistress Trepe had let the   
  
troublesome girl remain at Balamb. Of course, Kella wasn't that troublesome, just   
  
merely different. 


	5. Close Call

~Chapter four~  
  
Headmistress Trepe was in her office when her assistant buzzed her, disturbing her   
  
from her work.  
  
"What is it Marina?" She said impatiently.  
  
"It's Squall Leonhart on line one, video phone ma'am. Should I take a message?"   
  
The timid assistant murmured.  
  
"Do speak up in future Marina and no, I'd like to talk to him personally. Thank you."   
  
And with that she hung up the phone and switched the videophone to line one.  
  
"Any news on her yet Squall?" Quistis asked, her face creasing with worry as she   
  
took in the fine lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth. He shook his head.  
  
"We haven't found her yet, but we did find a pamphlet in her room. It was for   
  
Balamb Garden and some of Kaddar's weapons are missing." He said sullenly. "So I   
  
believe she may of headed there, she's not stupid so she wont enrol under her   
  
name. I want you to keep an eye out for her okay?" Quistis nodded.  
  
"I promise. Recently, we've only had a couple enrolments; two males and two   
  
females. I'll check out the girls for you." Quistis promised. Squall murmured his   
  
thanks and flashed her a ghost of smile before he ended the transmission.  
  
Quistis leant back with a heavy sigh and pulled the two new girls files from under a   
  
pile of paperwork, thanking Hyne she hadn't got around to filing them yet. Pressing   
  
a button on the phone, she buzzed Marina.  
  
"Marina I want Delia Mackenzie and Maki Genoa in my office by the hour's end."  
  
Rolling her eyes for the third time in the past hour, Fureya snorted and stalked off   
  
leaving Willard flirting with some blonde. She wasn't sure why, but lately whenever   
  
her roommate stopped to chase some skirts, Fureya's hackles would rise and she'd   
  
become curt and irritable. It bothered her almost as much as him flirting bothered   
  
her.   
  
In a typical female act, Fureya weaved through aisles of male clothing with a sulky   
  
attitude. Whilst muttering under her breath, she didn't notice that Macen and   
  
Garret had found her.   
  
" . . . Hormonal male teenage who can never keep his hands to his self and is   
  
always checking out that blonde and this brunette. Why I ought to." Fureya's   
  
muttered ramblings trailed off as Garret and Macen exchanged glances. This was   
  
odd behaviour to them, but they just shrugged it off.  
  
"What's up, Furei?" Macen chirped, slapping her on the back and startling her out   
  
of her muttering daze.   
  
"Huh? Oh, hey." She blinked and stared up at them and noted the strange looks.   
  
"What?" They looked at each other and shrugged again.  
  
"I believe you were muttering about our skirt chasing friend." Teased Macen   
  
wickedly, drawing a faint blush from Fureya who shrugged in reply.  
  
"It's just. Err. He always scares the girls away." She mumbled as a cover up.   
  
Garret nodded in agreement and stroked his chin in thought.   
  
"You have a point." With a sigh he turned to face Macen. "We must quash him or   
  
perish dateless." Macen nodded solemnly and glanced at Fureya.  
  
"You in, Hanover?" He queried imperiously. Fureya felt a giggle bubble up in her   
  
throat, but smothered it and nodded seriously.  
  
"For the sake of our reputation. No, for the sake of every other male's reputation   
  
at Balamb Garden we must quash the skirt chaser." Fureya said fiercely and struck   
  
a triumphant pose.  
  
"Are you talking about me?" A dry voice drawled from behind them. Fureya jumped,   
  
startled by the voice and turned to face a smirking Willard. "I scare away all your   
  
women?" He snorted in amusement and grinned. "You have to have women to   
  
have them scared off." He stated and winked at them. "Anyway, it's time we head   
  
back to Balamb."  
  
And with that the four of them piled into the car and began the thirty-minute drive   
  
home.  
  
~*~  
  
After finally satisfying the librarian, the pair of girls snuck out of the library.  
  
"Man. I thought we'd never get out of there. Talk about ruling with an iron fist."   
  
Moaned Vivienne as she pushed stray locks of hair behind her ear. Keladryie   
  
grimaced in agreement as she stretched her numb legs.   
  
"She's just a twisted up old woman." Yelped Kella as pins and needles set in.  
  
"I do hope I didn't hear that fall from your mouth, Miss Almasy." Headmistress   
  
Trepe stated primly as she came up behind them. "That would be considered   
  
vulgar, and SeeD members are not vulgar." She chastised firmly and raised a   
  
questioning eyebrow.  
  
"No Headmistress." The girls chanted in unison, feigning innocent looks. Quistis   
  
chuckled softly and shook her head before striding down the corridor.  
  
"'SeeD members are not vulgar.'" Mimicked Keladryie sourly as she stalked into the   
  
cafeteria. Grabbing a bottle of juice, she sat down at a table and pulled the lid off   
  
of the bottle. Taking a swallow as Vivienne plonked into the seat next to her, she   
  
made a face. Opening her mouth to speak, she was silenced by an arm falling   
  
across her shoulder with a hand placing its self dangerously close to her chest.  
  
"Why if it isn't my two favourite girls." Drawled a familiar voice. Keladryie grimaced   
  
and turned to see Willard with his arms around both her and Vivienne. Shrugging   
  
his arm off, she got to her feet and grabbed hold of his collar.  
  
"You keep your hands to yourself." She hissed fiercely, a sneer curling her top lip.   
  
Willard smiled lazily at her, mischief glowing in his dark eyes.  
  
"You like it rough, do ya?" He prodded tauntingly. Keladryie responded by shoving   
  
him backwards forcefully and watched as he stumbled back, knocking a table and   
  
one of his friends.  
  
"You watch your mouth, Trepe." She snarled. "Just because your mothers in   
  
charge it doesn't mean you can control everyone like that bitch." Willard shrugged   
  
and brushed some invisible lint off of his pants.  
  
"Just because your father was right screw up doesn't mean you can act like a   
  
grumpy minx." He stated coolly, watching her through his lashes. Keladryie turned   
  
red with rage as the warmth of anger built up under her cheekbones.  
  
"You know nothing about my father." She growled and picked up her almost full   
  
juice bottle. With some force, she threw it at Willard. The bottle bounced off his   
  
chest and onto Fureya's shoulder, spilling its contents all over the pair.   
  
With that, Keladryie stormed out, seething with fury.  
  
"Sorry mate." Willard said to a wet Fureya as she looked down at her shirt in   
  
dismay.  
  
"It's okay." She sighed and the pair of them went back to the dorm to change.  
  
Fureya stripped off her shirt and threw it in the basket in the corner. Unlacing her   
  
corset she sighed as she tucked it in a drawer and pulled out a clean one. She   
  
couldn't put it in her washing basket, if it were found she'd never be able to   
  
explain it. Laying the clean corset on the bed, she towelled of the remnants of the   
  
juice with a sigh. Just as she picked up the corset, her bedroom door flung open.  
  
"Furei!" Called Willard as he entered. Fureya swung around her grey eyes saucer   
  
wide as she stared at him. Naked from the waist up, she had never felt so   
  
exposed. "Hyne." Stammered an uneasy Willard as he took in the form of his best   
  
friend. "You.. You're a girl!" He stuttered as he took a step back. Fureya blushed   
  
and turned around.  
  
"Let me dress and.. And Ill explain everything." She mumbled lamely as he nodded   
  
and exited, shutting the door behind him.   
  
Fureya let out a string of curses and slid her corset into place, tying the laces up   
  
tightly. Pulling on a clean shirt she took a deep breath and opened the door.  
  
Standing in front of him, she paused not sure where to start.  
  
"Who are you and why are you disguising your sex? Balamb Garden approves of   
  
both male and female warriors." Willard questioned softly, his confusion burning   
  
brightly in his eyes as he studied her face.  
  
"My name is Fureya Leonhart." She swallowed recklessly and looked him in the   
  
eye. "As the daughter of Squall Leonhart and younger sister of Kaddar, I was   
  
nobody. I was never good enough but I've beaten Kaddar many times! Everyone   
  
flocks around my brother and my father, they tell me to give up and that I'm just a   
  
girl! So I ran away here and became a boy, I even cut off my hair." To her shame   
  
tears dripped down her cheeks. Willard stared at her for a long moment.  
  
"Squall's daughter? Of all the possible roommates I could have, I get one who   
  
broke my nose when I was twelve." He murmured, a mischievous glint in his eyes   
  
as he ran his finger over the tiny bump in his nose. Fureya smiled through her   
  
tears and sniffed.  
  
"You can't tell anyone, okay?" She hiccoughed. "Promise?" She stared up at him   
  
her eyes silver and pleading in her pale face. For a moment could see a frightened   
  
little girl and the look in her eyes tugged on his heartstrings.  
  
"I promise Fureya." He said softly and hugged her quickly. "Now come on, the guys   
  
are waiting for us." Fureya grinned and wiped her eyes.  
  
"Oh wait." She said suddenly. "What was so important you had to barge into my   
  
room anyway?" Will looked at her meekly.  
  
"I was wondering if you took the last chocolate bar. I was going to rough you up   
  
about it too." He said cheerfully. Fureya looked at him dubiously before laughing   
  
and the pair left together, pretending as if nothing had changed between them.  
  
~*~  
  
Monday afternoon and they were back in the re opened training grounds. Well   
  
technically not in it, but in the special room that had been added in recently to   
  
accommodate such lessons.  
  
"Today children, we shall have a demonstration. According to my knowledge, Miss   
  
Almasy and Master Trepe consider themselves so advanced in their weapon   
  
studies that they can show off." She stared pointedly at the pair. "Almasy. Trepe.   
  
Arm yourselves now and prepare to demonstrate the skills you have accumulated   
  
over the years." Weapons Mistress Kumara's voice was like a whip, lashing through   
  
the air. Sighing softly, the pair armed themselves and prepared to begin.  
  
"After you have finished your demonstration. I have a room full of weapons that   
  
require cleaning and a room that requires sweeping." She said smugly. "Now I want   
  
the rest of you to gather around, sit comfortably, and call out the flaws in the   
  
fighters technique as they happen. And afterwards you may have the afternoon   
  
off while this pair clean." Mistress Kumara declared tartly. "You may begin."  
  
Keladryie glared at Willard, blaming him. He just responded with a lazy smile,   
  
knowing it was going to be an interesting afternoon. 


	6. Leonhart rage

~Chapter five~  
  
Keladryie scrubbed a fleck of dirt off a sword blade and held it up to check that it   
  
was properly cleaned. The sword gleamed in the artificial light, as clean as the old   
  
weapon would be. Kella slid it into its respective sheath and laid it next to the   
  
others. Stretching her cramped limbs, she looked around at the armoury. All of the   
  
weapons were finally clean and Willard had just gone to sweep out the practise   
  
room. Looking at the clock on the wall, Keladryie groaned; it was five in the   
  
afternoon. Shutting the door to the armoury, Kella walked stiffly into the practise   
  
room.  
  
"Hurry up Trepe." She snapped. "I have other things to do." Willard shot her a   
  
charming smile as he leant on his broom.  
  
"But Miss Keladryie, I don't want this date to end." He drawled. "When I'm not   
  
with you, my heart contracts and cries out for you." His grey eyes twinkling with   
  
merriment as Keladryie rolled her eyes.  
  
"Shut your face Trepe and go hit on some girl that can actually stand to look at   
  
your ugly face." She snapped and stalked out of the practise area. Willard   
  
chuckled softly to himself and put the broom away before leaving as well.  
  
Walking down the corridor, Kella headed for the Garden entrance to get some fresh   
  
air. On her way there, Fureya stopped her.  
  
"Keladryie." She started hesitantly, catching her attention. "Do you know where   
  
Willard went?" Keladryie snorted impatiently as her emerald eyes studied the   
  
shorter youths face.   
  
"Why would I know where that skirt chaser is?" She murmured softly. Fureya   
  
paused, startled by the softness in her voice, before shrugging.  
  
"Was just curious." She said gruffly and shuffled off, leaving a thoughtful Keladryie   
  
behind.   
  
Keladryie sat on a ledge outside the Garden feeling a gentle breeze toy with her   
  
long red dyed locks. Without warning, a pang of homesickness coursed through   
  
her. She missed her father and her mother; even her little brother. Sighing   
  
inaudibly, she hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the cerulean blue sky   
  
dotted with fluffy white clouds. Slowly and softly, she began to hum a song her   
  
father had taught her when she was little. It always reminded her of him and often   
  
lightened her mood.  
  
The noise of someone softly clearing his or her throat distracted Keladryie from her   
  
thoughts. Keladryie turned to face the new comer.   
  
The girl was really short with waves of thick reddish brown hair falling past her   
  
shoulders and framing her thin face. Her green eyes were bright, but didn't   
  
compare to Keladryie's own vivid emerald orbs.   
  
"Yes?" Kella asked, looking the girl over as she tucked a curl of red brown hair   
  
behind her ear.   
  
"I'm Amelia James Kinneas." The girl piped cheerfully. "Weapons Mistress Kumara   
  
sent me to look for you. She said that you would be able to show me around   
  
because like my mother, I transferred from Trabia Garden to take the SeeD exams   
  
here."  
  
Keladryie looked the girl over carefully, although there was a bright smile across   
  
her lips, it didn't quite reach her eyes. Her eyes were sombre and seemed to   
  
contain a sad shadow within their depths.   
  
Keladryie sighed and hopped off the ledge, she knew if she didn't do it the   
  
Weapons Mistress would probably assign her some other menial task.   
  
"Sure, c'mon then." She said lightly deciding to make the best of it.   
  
Half an hour later, Keladryie waved a tired goodbye to Amelia and retreated to the   
  
sanctity of her dorm. Amelia had chattered endlessly during her tour and had only   
  
paused when Keladryie had explained something. Afterwards, Amelia had insisted   
  
that they eat dinner together. It was a slightly taxing chore, but it did pass the   
  
time.   
  
Keladryie flopped down on to her bed and exhaled noisily. Stifling a yawn, she   
  
rolled over to face the wall and it wasn't long before she'd nodded off to sleep.  
  
~*~  
  
"Almasy and Hanover." Barked the weapons mistress. "You two have been way to   
  
dangerous with your weapons as of late. I want you to use dulled practise   
  
weapons. Also, you two will be sparring partners today and I hope you both use   
  
this chance to get the itch out of your hands."   
  
Keladryie and Fureya groaned and entered the armoury. Keladryie grabbed an old   
  
gunblade and hefted it. The edge had dulled enough to be considered good for   
  
beginners, same with the Naginata Fureya grasped. Although the blades were   
  
dulled, the were still capable of cutting through less resistant materials like cloth   
  
and so forth. Sifting through the practice swords available, Fureya thrust a short   
  
one in her belt after deeming it suitable.  
  
Without bothering to follow any sort of sportsmanlike custom, the pair began their   
  
battle. They fought with a ferocity that proved the Weapons Mistresses words to   
  
be correct; they had an itch in their hands to fight. They circled around each   
  
other, parried blows, thrust dulled blades at each other and defended. It was   
  
almost a monotonous cycle of blows.  
  
Finally Keladryie broke through, landing a glancing blow on Fureya's shoulder.   
  
Fureya cried out with pain as her shoulder flared in hot pain. Gritting her teeth she   
  
attacked with a renewed determination.  
  
Keladryie let out a war cry she'd learned off her father and swung the gunblade   
  
over her head and bringing it down towards Fureya. Fureya thrust the Naginata up   
  
to parry the blow, but at a slightly crooked angle. The wooden part of the weapon   
  
took the force of the downswing and shattered into two main parts as well   
  
countless little splinters. The bladed end fell and thudded on to the ground with a   
  
noise that caught everyone's attention.  
  
Fureya discarded the remnants of the weapon she still held and drew her short   
  
sword swiftly. Keladryie smiled grimly and whipped her blade in crescent circle, a   
  
move the revived the duel.  
  
The fighting continued on for longer, Fureya handicapped by a shorter range and   
  
an aching shoulder was starting to tire.   
  
Skipping forward after dodging a downward swing, Fureya thrust towards her   
  
opponent. Kella responded quickly by jumping aside and yanking her blade in an   
  
upwards swing. The edge of Keladryie's gunblade tore open Fureya's shirt as well   
  
as slicing through the material of the binding that kept her breasts hidden.  
  
Fureya dropped her weapon and stepped back as the onlookers were instantly   
  
hushed.  
  
"You're a girl." Stuttered Keladryie as she stared at the person she'd thought she'd   
  
had a crush. Shame fuelled her anger as she realized she'd been duped.  
  
Willard came up to stand next to Fureya as she stared at the crowd with saucer   
  
like eyes as the weapons mistress came up.  
  
"What is the meaning of this disruption?" She demanded as she glared at them all   
  
in turn before seeing the problem. "Oh I see. Willard, I recommend that you go get   
  
your mother." She ordered tartly, waiting as he reluctantly complied. Shrugging off   
  
her tunic, she handed it to Fureya who gratefully put it on. They waited in silence   
  
until the Headmistress arrived.  
  
Quistis strode in and zeroed in on Fureya who offered an apologetic smile.  
  
"Fureya Leonhart. You're father is tearing up the countryside looking for you." The   
  
blonde woman said furiously, drawing surprised stares from the class. Keladryie   
  
narrowed her vivid green eyes at the girl.  
  
"Your Leonharts brat?" She demanded, ignoring the silencing glance from Quistis.   
  
"No wonder your such a freak." She spat in disgust before the Weapons Mistress   
  
shut her up.  
  
"Fureya collect your weapons, your belongs and go to my office. I'm sending you   
  
home." Quistis growled her eyes flashing with anger. Fureya bit her lip and squared   
  
her shoulders.  
  
"I can't go home. I have a SeeD exam to take and you have no right to expel me   
  
when I have committed no wrongdoing. Disguising one's sex is not in the rule book   
  
so therefore it is not against the rules." Fureya stated tartly, catching the older   
  
woman off guard.   
  
"Seeing as your right, I assume that you stay." Quistis paused as the girl grinned   
  
proudly. "But I will be informing your father of your whereabouts." With that last   
  
remark, Quistis strode out of the practise room and left a silent class in her wake.  
  
"Oh no." Groaned Fureya as she rubbed her forehead. "Father will kill me."   
  
Keladryie grinned smugly at her.  
  
"Serves you right Leonhart. You should have never come here." She said snidely   
  
and turned her back. Willard narrowed his grey eyes and hugged Fureya   
  
comfortingly.  
  
"Miss Leonhart." Growled the Weapons Mistress. "Go back to your dorm and   
  
change your clothes. You are released for the afternoon." Kumara paused and her   
  
eyes flicked across to Willard. "Take Mr Trepe with you, he can help you move out   
  
into a female dorm." She said stiffly.  
  
~*~  
  
Quistis Trepe's fingers hovered over the button that would connect the call   
  
between her and Squall. She was hesitant to tell him because she knew he'd   
  
developed a temper; a temper that would be brought down on herself and Fureya.   
  
Squall would be furious that Fureya was here and furious that Quistis hadn't   
  
noticed her right away. Headmistress Trepe did admit that she had been lax in her   
  
search by looking for a girl with long raven hair; hair can be easily cut and as   
  
proved a sex disguised. Steeling herself, Quistis stabbed the button and squared   
  
her shoulders as Squall's weary face appeared on screen.  
  
"Quistis?" He murmured wearily. "What's up? There's been no news of Reya if   
  
that's what you're calling about." Quistis quivered slightly and shook her head.  
  
"I know." She murmured softly. Squalls grey eyes sharpened and he shot her a   
  
curious look. "I found your daughter Squall." Squall's features froze, he'd been   
  
waiting for those words so long that he could scarcely believe they'd been said.   
  
"You found Reya?" He nearly shouted. "Where was she? Where is she now?"   
  
Quistis flinched and drew a breath.  
  
"She was enrolled as a student at Balamb." Quistis looked away as Squall's   
  
features went white with fury.  
  
"A student at your establishment?" He growled. "How could you let her enrol and   
  
not know it was her? How could you not recognize your own goddaughter!" Quistis   
  
flinched and sighed.  
  
"Squall, she enrolled as a boy and she cut her hair. You never let her visit for   
  
nearly 6 years, people's appearances change in so long, how the hell was I   
  
supposed to see my goddaughter in a grown up male?" Her curt voice rang out   
  
causing Squall to flinch and narrow his gaze.  
  
"Don't blame me for your blindness Quistis." Squall growled in a low poisonous   
  
voice.  
  
"My blindness Squall? What about your blindness? You were so busy fawning over   
  
your precious Kaddar that you didn't have time for your little girl." She paused,   
  
sucking in a deep breath. "It is as I thought, you do blame her for Rinoa's death.   
  
Don't you Squall? You keep telling yourself that you should of left Fureya in the   
  
car and saved your wife. Now you can't even look at her because she's a spitting   
  
image of her mother, with your eyes. But for that reason, you want her around.   
  
Because sometimes, you can pretend its Rinoa-" She was cut off when a crimson   
  
red Squall cut in.  
  
"You shut your mouth Quistis Trepe." He snapped furiously. "You know nothing.   
  
You hear me? Nothing! I will be there in a few days and I will take my daughter   
  
home." And with that he cut the connection.  
  
Quistis sagged back, tears of fury pricking her eyes. She had a few days respite   
  
before he would be here, bringing his rage with him. 


	7. Truce

~Chapter six~  
  
Fureya settled in to class easily and into her new dorm just as easily. After   
  
changing dorms, she found her new dorm mate was Amelia Kinneas, the daughter   
  
of Selphie and Irvine, more past friends of her father.   
  
The bubbly youth proved to be a pleasant companion, full of cheer even if her   
  
eyes were shadowed with darkness.  
  
"Amelia?" Fureya inquired softly as she came into the dorm to find the thin girl   
  
staring at the ceiling with stricken eyes. "What's wrong?" Amelia turned her   
  
shadowed green eyes to Fureya and smiled wryly.  
  
"Just thinking about the upcoming exams." She lied softly and flicked open a work   
  
book for effect. "See, studying." She murmured. Fureya sighed softly, seeing   
  
through her lie but deciding not to push it.   
  
Sitting down, she opened a book up and started to read, bored.  
  
After flicking through a couple of pages, she put the book down in exasperation.  
  
"I'm going for a walk." She said to an unresponsive Amelia before walking out.  
  
Striding down the hallway she tugged on the hem of the uniform skirt, wishing she   
  
were still wearing the male uniform.   
  
At the entrance of the Garden, she noticed a lone male figure staring out over the   
  
plains in the direction of the sea. He was wearing a male SeeD uniform, but a close   
  
look revealed instead of the usual gold lining, it was scarlet. Fureya grinned and   
  
stood next to him, following his gaze across the plains with her own grey gaze.  
  
"If Headmistress Trepe catches you with that uniform, full SeeD or not, she'll have   
  
you scrub weapons for a week." She murmured, her grey eyes flicking across to   
  
him. The man smiled wolfishly, his soft hazel eyes gleaming with mischief.   
  
"What's wrong with my uniform?" He teased, knowing full well the answer. Fureya   
  
bit her lip, sensing that she was being teased.  
  
"The red striping." She pointed out softly, looking the guy over.  
  
He was taller than she was with a crop of ebony hair that hung over his gleaming   
  
hazel eyes.   
  
"My uniform meets protocol for my particular division." He said wickedly. "But   
  
you've probably never heard of it. That information isn't available to just anyone."   
  
He taunted, looking through his lashes at the girl. Fureya stared at him icily, her   
  
lips twisting into a wry grin.  
  
"My father was the previous commander of this Garden and he never mentioned   
  
any SeeD members that would wear red striped uniforms." The guy shrugged and   
  
smiled at her.  
  
"I don't know who your father is, but Headmistress Trepe only just became aware   
  
of our existence." He looked her over and turned back to look over the plains.  
  
"If your division is so top secret, why exactly are you at Balamb?" Fureya   
  
enquired, still studying him closely.  
  
"You'll find out soon enough." He said cheerfully and walked back into the Garden,   
  
whistling as he went. Fureya watched him go and sighed grumpily. She was never   
  
a fan of being kept in the dark.  
  
~*~  
  
"Will!" Fureya called, pounding on his dorm door. "Are you there?" After a few   
  
prolonged seconds, the door slid open to reveal an impatient looking Willard.   
  
"What is it?" He demanded impatiently. Fureya raised a surprised eyebrow; it   
  
wasn't like Will to be so testy.   
  
"I just wanted to know if you knew anything about the SeeD with the red striped   
  
uniforms?" She asked tentatively. He shook his head and glanced over his   
  
shoulder.  
  
"Don't know anything." He said shortly. "Now if you'll excuse me." He punched the   
  
button that signalled for the door to slide shut.  
  
"No wait!" Called Fureya as she stuck her hand through the doorframe, the motion   
  
senses kicked in and the door opened wide again. Willard sighed and rubbed his   
  
face.  
  
"What is it Fureya?" He said in exasperation.   
  
"What's wrong?" She demanded and pushed her way into the room. "I'm not   
  
leaving til you tell me what's made you so testy." She growled stubbornly.   
  
"Fureya, please come back later." He said forcefully. Fureya opened her mouth to   
  
reply when a female with tousled hair stepped out of Willard's sleeping quarters.  
  
"I'll come back later." She said in a soft musical voice, her eyes unsure as she   
  
stared at Fureya. Fureya's eyes widened as she realized what was going on.  
  
"No." She said in a flat tone. "I'll go." Her heart twisted painfully as she fled from   
  
the room. Willard watched her go, not understanding the emotion that had crossed   
  
her bland face.   
  
Her sensible black shoes slapped the cold floor of the dorm hallway as she ran   
  
away from Willard. She reached her dorm, but paused and walked away with out   
  
going in. She couldn't be alone in there, Amelia would probably be there and   
  
Fureya wanted to be alone.  
  
She walked on, not knowing where she was going. She was confused, confused as   
  
to why her eyes burnt with unshed tears and confused as to why her heart was   
  
twisted painfully.  
  
She ended up walking down past the classrooms and outside to the small ledge.   
  
She sat down in a corner and hugged her knees to her chest as she stared up at   
  
the cerulean blue sky.  
  
Fureya knew she wasn't embarrassed that she'd walked in on them. She couldn't   
  
be jealous, could she? They were just friends after all.  
  
No, a little voice in her head said. Your not just friends, you look at him with a   
  
woman's eyes. Clouded with those feelings, you couldn't stand the sight and the   
  
thought of him being with someone else. You ran away to pretend it never   
  
happened.  
  
Fureya shook her head in defeat as she rested her chin on her knees.  
  
"Things were never this hard before." She mumbled to herself.  
  
"Talking to yourself?" A scornful voice interrupted, startling Fureya out of her   
  
thoughts. She looked up to see Keladryie Almasy leaning over the solid wall that   
  
kept people from falling. Fureya grinned wolfishly and shrugged, not in the mood to   
  
pick a fight.  
  
"It's a Heartily trait. My mother did it a lot I'm told." Her voice was slightly   
  
saddened as she spoke of her deceased mother, but it would always be. Keladryie   
  
glanced back at her.  
  
"From what I've heard, Rinoa was a good person." She admitted softly. "My Father   
  
took her leaving him personal, but I think it worked out better in the end. My   
  
dislike is for your father, not your mother." Fureya regarded Keladryie in a new   
  
light and stood up, leaning against the barrier next to her.  
  
"You know." Fureya said cheerfully. "Your not too bad for an Almasy." Keladryie   
  
rolled her eyes, but not unkindly.  
  
"You could be worse considering you're a Leonhart." She replied a little hesitantly.   
  
Fureya picked up on the hesitation and laughed softly.  
  
"I'm not asking you to forget everything and for us to leave here the best of   
  
friends. I'm just saying all this animosity between us is not necessary." Fureya   
  
pointed out quietly. "Plus, if Almasy's and Leonharts started to get friendly, others   
  
would believe the world has turned on its ears and has gone insane." She joked,   
  
drawing a soft laugh out of Keladryie.  
  
"Your right." She admitted and held out her hand. "Truce?"  
  
"Truce." Fureya grinned and shook Keladryie's hand.   
  
~*~  
  
They were in history class the next day, Fureya was sitting next to Amelia and   
  
Keladryie was next to Vivienne. Willard was sitting by himself; Fureya had been   
  
avoiding him since the day before.  
  
"Guardian Forces used to be partners to SeeD members, each Cadet was given   
  
Quezacotl the lightning bird and Shiva the ice maiden before they were sent to the   
  
fire caverns north of here to obtain Ifrit the fire hell-demon. That task was   
  
required of all Cadets that wished to take the SeeD exams. Headmistress Trepe   
  
outlawed the practise of Guardian Forces ten years ago after it was proven that   
  
the use of them degraded the users memory. You see, the Guardian Force was   
  
stored in a section of your brain and prolonged use made you lose parts of your   
  
memory. Of course, it wasn't the actual Guardian Force that resided in your mind,   
  
but the power of them. There was only ever one Shiva, but she would lay a hand   
  
on your forehead and grant you to power to summon her power. But it is no more,   
  
so the Guardian Forces now have scattered across the world doing their own   
  
thing." Instructor Whippet droned on, although the information was interesting, his   
  
tone of voice made it tedious. There was a rap on the door, a forewarning as it   
  
slid open.  
  
Quistis Trepe stood in the doorway, a masculine figure behind her.  
  
"Instructor Whippet." She said pleasantly. "My apologies for interrupting your   
  
class." Whippet nodded forgivingly, allowing the headmistress to continue. "I just   
  
need to see-"  
  
"Quistis, I have no time for your long winded speeches." A gruff voice interrupted,   
  
causing Fureya's heart to sink; she knew that voice very well. Quistis sighed   
  
exasperated and stepped aside to admit Squall Leonhart into the room.  
  
"Fureya Julia Leonhart." He thundered, his grey eyes stormy and his features taut   
  
as Fureya got to her feet. Keladryie stared at the man in disdain as Fureya walked   
  
to the front of the class.  
  
"To my office, if you both please." Quistis's tone was soft but iron firm.  
  
As the door shut behind the departing figures, Instructor Whippet turned to the   
  
class.  
  
"And that was former Headmaster Leonhart. He saved this very garden against   
  
many enemies such as Norg, Sorceress Edea and her knight and from Galbadia   
  
Garden." He stated clearly before launching into a very long-winded speech about   
  
the antics of a younger Squall.  
  
~*~  
  
Quistis regarded the silent father and daughter pair as they stood in her office,   
  
glaring at each other.  
  
"Squall." She started. "Fureya is eighteen and an adult, you can't take her from   
  
here without her permission or unless she has been expelled." Squall shot her a   
  
look and shrugged.  
  
"Then expel her." He snapped. Quistis grimaced and shook her head.  
  
"As the headmistress of this facility, I have a duty to train capable youths into   
  
extremely capable fighters. I have no reason to expel her, she is an adept student   
  
and an even better fighter." She said firmly. Squall turned to face Quistis fully and   
  
raised an eyebrow.  
  
"And as Fureya's godmother? What do you recommend then?" He growled, his   
  
temper growing as his patience ran out.  
  
"I recommend she stay here where she is happy. She has friends and people who   
  
treat her as an equal here." Squall stared at her long and hard.  
  
"I thought you were my friend, Quistis." He said in a deadly soft tone. Quistis   
  
flinched and squared her shoulders.  
  
"Then maybe you should start treating me like a friend then." She stated curtly.   
  
"The thing is unless Fureya wishes to go home with you, she will stay here."  
  
Squall turned to Fureya who'd watched the exchange silently.  
  
"Why do you want me back in Deling City?" She said soberly, her eyes studying his   
  
face. "You ignore me constantly and don't let me do what I love to do the most, I   
  
love to fight. You know I can beat Kaddar hands down." Squall nodded and sighed.  
  
"You are a spitting image of your mother." He blurted out. "I wanted to keep you   
  
safe from the world. Being a SeeD would never be easy for you, you are the   
  
daughter of a sorceress and many think you are a sorceress." He smiled wistfully.   
  
"But you have Rinny's spirit. You want to fight the majority and prove everyone   
  
wrong. I'm sorry for the way I treated you." He looked at Quistis and offered her a   
  
sincere apologetic smile. "You too Quistis. I'm really sorry."  
  
"It's okay Dad." Fureya said softly. Squall reached out and hugged his daughter,   
  
his fingers brushing across her short raven locks.  
  
"You loved your hair." He murmured softly. "If you want to stay here, I don't   
  
mind."  
  
Fureya looked up at him and grinned.  
  
"Headmistress." She said, turning to face Quistis. "I was wondering if I could go   
  
home for a week. I'll keep up my studies and be back in time to recap what I did   
  
miss before the SeeD exams, I just think me and Dad need some time together."   
  
Quistis nodded.  
  
"Fine by me." 


	8. Sorceresses

~Chapter seven~  
  
The gentle salty sea breeze tugged at Fureya's short raven locks as she stared   
  
across the horizon over the sapphire surface of the ocean. Squall had brought his   
  
daughter to the place of the accident that had stolen Rinoa's life away from them.  
  
"I first met Rinoa Heartilly at the SeeD inauguration ball. She was wearing a silky   
  
dress the colour of moonlight, creamy yellow white. We danced to a song titled   
  
'Waltz for the moon'. It was the next day we were officially introduced; she was   
  
the contractor and I as the client. She was part of a resistance faction called   
  
'Forest Owls' in Timber; her father was General Caraway of the Galbadian army. It   
  
was kind of a messy situation when you think about it." Squall grinned wryly,   
  
glancing at his attentive daughter; information hungry Fureya was giving him her   
  
full attention. "So Rinoa, daughter of General Caraway and the late singer Julia   
  
Heartilly, where your middle name originates from, hired us SeeD to level out the   
  
dispute and to carry out some resistance plans. You know how that all turned out,   
  
we fought Sorceress Edea and won. That was about the time I saw her softer   
  
side, some reptilian fiends attacked her. When we rescued her, she was paralysed   
  
with fear; it cracked some of the ice around my frozen heart. In the end, she   
  
became a sorceress and I her knight. Sorceress or not, Rinoa was still the most   
  
beautiful woman I'd ever met. She touched people's hearts and spoke her own   
  
without reservation. She was a true angel to me; she opened my heart up to the   
  
world and taught me how to love. She gave you and Kaddar the same qualities   
  
and you even inherited her angelic looks." By now, Squalls eyes shone with tears   
  
but he smiled a smile full of love, devotion and happiness.  
  
"I'll always love your mother and I'll always love you Reya." Fureya smiled her   
  
face full of bittersweet emotions as she hugged her father tightly.  
  
"I love you Dad."  
  
The sombre pair cast a long look across the glinting surface of the ocean, silence   
  
stretching between them. Fureya turned to head back to the Garden, but was   
  
stopped by her fathers closed fist held out to her.  
  
"Hold out your hand." Squall murmured softly. Fureya did as she was told and he   
  
dropped something cold and hard into her hand.   
  
Looking at it, she saw it was two silver rings with a fine silver chain threaded   
  
through them. One ring was an unadorned wedding band; the other was a silver   
  
wedding band with diamonds studded evenly around it and words etched inside the   
  
band.  
  
"The simple band is Julia Heartilly's wedding band and the other is Rinoa's wedding   
  
band. The inscription reads 'Rinoa my love, forever and beyond.'" Fureya stared   
  
up at her father in amazement as she realized what the rings meant.   
  
"You're giving them to me?" As Squall nodded gravely, Fureya continued. "But this   
  
is Mum's wedding ring, a symbol of the love you two cherished." She stammered.   
  
Squall lifted his Griever necklace off of his chest to show Fureya.  
  
"The ring that matches this pendant is where the wedding band should be on my   
  
wife." He sucked in a shuddering breath and closed a fist around the pendant   
  
tightly. "The rings are for you, Reya." Squall said firmly and strode off towards   
  
Balamb.  
  
Back at Balamb, the pair walked in silence around the circular corridor. Squall was   
  
taken in by the fact very little had changed since he'd been here last and Fureya   
  
was caught up in thoughts of her mother as she rubbed the diamond and silver   
  
wedding band with her thumb.  
  
"Fureya." A hesitant male voice called out, the voice was warm and soft in   
  
Fureya's ears.  
  
"Willard." She breathed instantly knowing who it was. He caught up and fell into   
  
step next to her. Squall glanced across at him, sensing words that needed to be   
  
said.  
  
"Get your stuff and don't be too long Reya. We leave for Deling on the next train."   
  
Squall commanded and veered off to go talk to Quistis.  
  
"You're leaving?" Willard said softly, his grey eyes sharp. Fureya nodded, keeping   
  
her own grey eyes forward and away from Wills face.   
  
"Soon as I grab my stuff." She murmured quietly. Willard dropped his gaze to the   
  
floor, his shoulders sagging with a non-existent weight.   
  
"Ever since that day when Annabelle was in my dorm, you've barely said anything   
  
to me. You haven't even looked me in the eye. I don't get it?" He explained with a   
  
soft tone. Fureya turned to look him straight in the eye. The distressed light fused   
  
with angry sparks in her grey eyes silenced Will as he opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"I'm a girl, Willard Trepe." She hissed and cupped her breasts in her hands. "A girl.   
  
I'm not like the rest of your friends; I'm not just one of the boys. I'm a girl!   
  
Female!" And with that, she dropped her hands and stalked off towards the   
  
dormitory to collect her stuff.  
  
"You really are dim-witted, Trepe." Keladryie remarked as she came forward after   
  
witnessing the exchange between the pair. Willard looked at the tall girl.  
  
"Shut up." He growled and shoved his hands deep into his pockets and slunk off.   
  
Keladryie chuckled softly, her lips twisting into a wry grin.  
  
"I've seen that smile on Seifer before." A dry male voice commented. Keladryie   
  
whipped around to face Squall, her eyes wide, as she was finally face to face with   
  
the evil her father spoke of.  
  
"Squall Leonhart." She spat as she took in his blank expression. He nodded and   
  
showed her a ghost of a smile.  
  
"You are Keladryie I'm assuming. I've heard a lot about you, you have Seifer's gift   
  
for the gunblade." He dipped his head once politely and followed his daughter's   
  
path through the dormitory.  
  
Keladryie watched him go, her face showing an amused expression.  
  
"He's not what I expected. I respect him because he's not stupid and a good hand   
  
with a gunblade. Also because he didn't drag an argument down a generation."   
  
She sighed softly. "I don't like him though." She grumbled and fled to the training   
  
centre. "A respected enemy is an equal enemy."   
  
~*~  
  
"What did you say?" Chimed Garret and Macen. Willard shrugged and ran a hand   
  
over his slicked back brown mane.   
  
"Fureya took her stuff and left with Squall yesterday afternoon." He said coolly.   
  
Keladryie laughed scornfully behind him.  
  
"It's probably Trepe's fault anyway." She stated primly, drawing inquiring looks   
  
from the pair of boys. "Their last conversation was an argument about something   
  
Trepe didn't pick up on." She shrugged and walked away leaving Will alone to fend   
  
off the accusing stares.  
  
"What did you do?" Macen prodded, his sinewy arms crossed across his chest.   
  
Willard shrugged apprehensively.   
  
"I don't know. She stumbled across Annabelle and me a week ago and then   
  
yesterday ranted something about being a girl. I already knew that." He explained   
  
tensely. Garret groaned and punched Willard soundly in the arm.  
  
"You bleating moron!" Macen growled in exasperation and rolled his eyes. "Think   
  
about it." He finished as he and Garrett stood up and walked off to the cafeteria.   
  
They'd just left when Keladryie sauntered back over to look Willard up and down   
  
with a look of disbelief in her eyes.  
  
"Still stuck on it?" She asked, twirling a lock of dark read hair around her fingers   
  
distractively. Willard stood up and shrugged.  
  
"I'm sure a night alone with you would get me unstuck." He taunted under his   
  
breath, but sighed. There was no fun in it at the moment, so lifting a shoulder in a   
  
half shrug; he left the room ignoring Keladryie's raging comments.  
  
~*~  
  
Fureya fiddled with her mother's necklace around her neck as the car drove up   
  
their Deling City home driveway. For some reason she was nervous about seeing   
  
Kaddar. She shook her head as the car slid to a gentle halt and got out of the car,   
  
stretching silently.  
  
"Rei!" Called out Kaddar as he came out the front door and hugged his sister. "I've   
  
missed you. Nobody beats me and keeps me humble like you do." He joked,   
  
drawing a smile from Fureya as she realized he did take his losses seriously.  
  
"Missed you too, Kaddar." She murmured sincerely.  
  
~*~  
  
The week passed without much of a hiccup, Fureya learnt more of her mother from   
  
her father while those at Balamb learnt of sorceresses.  
  
Fureya was actually felt saddened when she was leaving to go back to Balamb,   
  
she'd miss her father and brother a lot. Slowly she packed her single duffel bag full   
  
of clothes and carefully tucked in a slender rectangle box deep into the clothes.   
  
When she came out of her room with her bag slung over her back, she was   
  
surprised to see Squall in a neatly pressed SeeD uniform.  
  
"What's going on?" She said curiously as she ran a hand over her cadet uniform   
  
skirt. Squall smiled mysteriously at his daughter, thrusting his sheathed gunblade   
  
into his belt.  
  
"Time to leave Reya." Squall said with a mysterious grin as he exited the house.   
  
Fureya followed, pausing to hug her brother before throwing her duffel in the car.  
  
As usual, the pair travelled in silence, but a comfortable silence.   
  
~*~  
  
The next day, Fureya slid in to class as usual, surprising her classmates. Her   
  
classmates had been wrongly informed of her vacation as a departure.   
  
"Fureya, your back." Willard murmured reproachfully. Fureya flashed him a smile   
  
and nodded. Willard froze, he hadn't expected it or realized how much he missed   
  
seeing it.   
  
"I'm glad you're back." He said, his mood lightening up. Fureya grinned brightly at   
  
Macen as he walked over, clapping her on the shoulder.  
  
"Miss me much?" She teased him. Macen laughed and shrugged.  
  
"I couldn't help myself princess." He retorted, drawing a laugh from the pair of   
  
them.  
  
"Hey, sit next to me." Fureya grinned and patted the other half of the bench seat.   
  
"Amelia is sitting with Keladryie." Macen sat down with a smile.  
  
"So tell me about your week."  
  
Will, feeling a little strange, walked over to his seat and sat down. It wasn't long   
  
before Garrett sat down next to him.  
  
"What's up?" He asked, noting the strange look on his face.  
  
"Nothing." Will grumbled, concentrating forcefully on his console. Garrett hid a   
  
smile and waited silently for the outburst of information that would almost   
  
indefinitely follow.  
  
"Why is he so chummy with her all of a sudden? And why is she just as chummy   
  
back?" He blurted out.  
  
"Who?" Came the calm reply.  
  
"Fureya and Macen!" Will growled. "They are all buddy-buddy and I'm left out. She   
  
fakes a smile at me and then grins as bright as a lamp when he comes over. Then   
  
it's like I'm not even there at all!"  
  
"Maybe she's just in denial and the less time spent with you, the better. Or so she   
  
thinks anyway." Reasoned Garrett calmly as Instructor Whippet entered the   
  
classroom.  
  
"Why denial?" Willard retorted, glancing across at the teacher.  
  
"Denial over the love she has for you. She found you with Annabelle remember?"   
  
Garrett whispered as Whippet sat down.  
  
"Okay, silence now cadets. Today's topic will be Sorceresses and the sub topic   
  
Hyne." He announced as Willard swallowed. Everything was falling into place for   
  
him; Fureya's behaviour and the confusion and even her apparent dislike for his   
  
flirtations. He zoned out as Whippet continued his spiel on Hyne, processing   
  
thought over thought.  
  
"Hyne was the first known sorceress and was once the ruler of Galbadia. It is   
  
unclear in the history books of how she possessed such powers, just that she did.  
  
"Hyne was born as Hydrae Koloa in Esthar. She possessed powers from birth and   
  
grew up shunned by all because of her differences. She was shunned, yet   
  
beautiful; long waves of dark crimson hair with vivid green eyes, cream skin and   
  
delicate features. But inside, she was twisted with hatred and sadness. She never   
  
felt love, friendship or kindness, just hatred, fear and pity from others. Her parents   
  
abandoned her and she grew up in an orphanage. Children teased her and adults   
  
ignored her. When she reached full maturity, physically and mentally, her powers   
  
peaked and she overthrew the Galbadian government. It was there that she found   
  
love in another abandoned shell of a human. He impregnated her and they had   
  
offspring. Six children, named Shiva, Quezacotl, Ifrit, Diablos, Eden and Carbuncle.   
  
But the children, who fell from her loins, were prophesised to be her demise.   
  
Hydrae, who had taken on the name Hyne by then, blasted them with raw magic,   
  
enough to kill them instantly. But instead of dying, the six children changed. They   
  
became the Guardian Forces they are now, unable to finish off Hyne. The fled from   
  
there and hid. They are waiting for the day their human forms are reborn. The six   
  
children will fuse with the Guardian Forces and finish off the Sorceress line."  
  
Impressive. Thought Fureya as she leant back into her seat.   
  
"That explains why they joined forces with Balamb. They searched every child who   
  
walked through these doors for traces of themselves. But now, they wait again."   
  
Whippet finished.  
  
"But sir." Piped up a student. "If that is so, then why did Headmistress Trepe   
  
taboo the Guardian Forces from working with us?" Whippet turned his stony gaze   
  
to the cadet.  
  
"Because a Guardian Force inside your head destroys parts of your memory." He   
  
said grimly.  
  
"Oh." Said the student.   
  
"I want you all to write what was just said in your own words." Whippet said firmly   
  
as the class groaned.  
  
"Why sir?" Piped up Keladryie.  
  
"Because SeeD was created to oppose the sorceress line, and to oppose   
  
something, you must know everything about it." 


	9. Run to the water

Oh desert speak to my heart  
  
Oh woman of the earth  
  
Maker of children who weep for love  
  
Maker of this birth  
  
'Til your deepest secrets are known to me  
  
I will not be moved  
  
I will not be moved  
  
~*~  
  
Squall stood on the very cliff edge, teetering between land and ocean and between life and death. To fall   
  
here would mean death on the jagged cliff rocks or drowning and being smashed against the cliff face   
  
by the waves below.   
  
It was the anniversary of Rinoa's death. He stared at the horizon as the sun rose, throwing soft pink   
  
light over the azure water.   
  
Squall Leonhart had only stood at this very place three times. Once when the car containing his wife   
  
tumbled over the edge; twice when he brought their daughter here to tell her about her mother and;   
  
thrice now, the seventeenth year since the accident.  
  
"Rinoa." He called, his soft voice carrying over the waves. Closing his eyes, he could imagine her slight   
  
figure dancing over the waves. The very smile he loved so much across her beautiful face. Opening his   
  
eyes, he turned to see Kaddar Leonhart on his left and Fureya Leonhart on his right. Kaddar was as   
  
stoic as ever, so very much like his father. Fureya was openly weeping, her hand clasped tightly around   
  
her mothers necklace.   
  
"Mother." The children called out in unison, their own voices tumbling across the sea breeze to follow   
  
their fathers.   
  
~*~  
  
In a moment we lost our minds here  
  
And lay our spirit down  
  
Today we lived a thousand years  
  
All we have is now  
  
~*~  
  
It had been seventeen short years ago when he'd tried to heal his wounds and it had been seventeen   
  
long years without his wife. It had taken a moment for him to lose her and almost a lifetime to let her go.   
  
Today he stood here with his family, looking towards the future instead of back at the past that haunted   
  
him so. He had healed a seventeen-year-old wound and ended seventeen long years of pain in one day.   
  
He knew he had to live for now, with his angel watching over him, his angel blessing him and his angel   
  
loving him.   
  
He had two children to live for, a boy who was his father all over again and a daughter who was her   
  
mother, but her father in the same instant; the angel with raven hair and silver eyes, the spirit of the   
  
woman and the talents of the man.   
  
"Rinoa." His voice was soft and warm as he spoke. "You would be proud of your babies. They grew   
  
into beautiful people, almost as beautiful as their adoring mother." He turned his eyes skyward.   
  
"Heaven reclaimed an angel early, I just hope I'm not forgotten and my angel waits for me."  
  
~*~  
  
And I will never leave you  
  
'Til we can say, "This world was just a dream  
  
We were sleeping now we are awake"  
  
'Til we can say..  
  
~*~  
  
A strong wind out of nowhere stirred up. It swirled past the three lone figures on the cliff edge and   
  
brought a flurry of rose pink petals with it. The petals danced around the pair, circling around and   
  
surrounding them.   
  
Squalls eyes widened and he reached out, cupping one in his calloused hand gently. Curling his fingers   
  
around it, he filled it with his love for her and threw it up. A soft dove white feather left his hand, no   
  
evidence that it was ever a pink petal.   
  
"Rinoa!" He called with a sense of urgency as the feather fell back into his hand, the pristine white stark   
  
against the soft brown tone of his skin. "I'll never forget you and I'll always dream of you when I sleep,   
  
and think of you when I'm awake. I'll leave this world one day and I know you'll be waiting for me. You   
  
even left me two angels to watch over me until we were reunited." A wet tear trickled down his cheek   
  
and he fell to his knees as the seventeen years of hurt, pain and loneliness left him in the form of tears.   
  
~*~  
  
Yeah, I can see it now lord  
  
Out beyond all the breaking of waves  
  
And the tribulation  
  
It's a place and the home of ascended souls  
  
Who swam out there in love!  
  
~*~  
  
When the official ceremony started, a crowd gathered. Quistis Trepe, Selphie and Irvine Kinneas,   
  
Madora and Zell Dincht, Edea and Cid Kramer and various other people had all loved her and had all   
  
came to say goodbye. Not goodbye because they knew she was dead, but goodbye because they knew   
  
she would finally rest in peace. Rest in peace now that her husband had let her go. There had never   
  
been any memorial service, just a simple funeral that Squall alone had gone to. He'd been wild and   
  
hadn't told anyone about the funeral until it was over. This was a chance for them to all say something   
  
and to share memories of happier times.   
  
"Squall." A gruff voice spoke up, breaking him from his trance. He looked up at the figure who had   
  
spoken. A tall man with close cropped silver blond hair and vividly shining emerald eyes.  
  
"Seifer." He replied. A silence that had stretched for years broke finally.  
  
"I came because I respected and adored Rinoa Heartilly." He said after a moment. "After all that   
  
happened, she still showed me kindness and forgiveness. She gave me friendship when no one else   
  
would, so I came here to show her how much I achieved because she believed in me." Squall offered   
  
Seifer a ghost of a smile and turned away.  
  
"Rinoa would want you here." He said before walking away.  
  
~*~  
  
Run to the water  
  
And find me there  
  
Burnt to the core but not broken  
  
We'll cut through the madness  
  
Of these streets below the moon  
  
With a nuclear fire of love in our hearts  
  
~*~  
  
The memorial had moved further down the coastline to where cliff turned into beach. Everyone stood   
  
barefoot on the sun-warmed sand as person after person said their memories, thoughts and love of   
  
Rinoa.  
  
The last speaker was Squall Leonhart.  
  
"I was never good at public speaking. Before I met Rinoa, 'whatever' was my answer to everything. Of   
  
course, she wouldn't accept such a half assed answer, so I had to do better to satisfy her." That drew a   
  
subdued laugh from the crowd. "Rinoa came to me in a dream last night and told me that today would be the  
  
beginning of something new. She told me if I said the words, it would free us both. When I asked her what  
  
words, she burst into a flurry of snowy feathers and disappeared. When I woke, I realized what she meant  
  
and I know what to say. I have to say goodbye to her, and that I love her. I miss her, but I don't miss   
  
her love because it still warms me at night. She loves me now as much as I love her." He paused and  
  
looked around, two intertwined roses in his hand. One was a dove white rose and the other was a crimson   
  
rose. Their stems had been carefully wrapped around each other. "The red rose signifies our passion and   
  
love. The white one signifies the purity of our love, our pure feelings and your pure heart." He carefully  
  
waded into the ice cold surf and floated the two roses on top of the water.  
  
"Rest in peace, angel."  
  
~*~  
  
Rest easy baby, rest easy  
  
And recognize it all as light and rainbows  
  
Smashed to smithereens and be happy  
  
Run to the water (and find me there)  
  
Run to the water  
  
(A/N - The song is 'Run to the water' - Live) 


	10. Airborn Support SeeD

_~Chapter nine~_

"It's been a while Seifer." Squall commented as he adjusted his grip on the hilt of his gunblade. The glowing blue lines of his Lionheart model blade were gleaming brightly in the artificial light of the combat room. Seifer grinned wickedly and shrugged.

"I just hope you haven't lost your edge." Seifer said. "I'd hate to be humiliated by fighting the weak." Squall smiled grimly and saluted Seifer with his blade as Seifer saluted him.

"No injuries and no shots fired off." A grumpy Weapons Mistress called from the side, Seifer had bullied her into giving up the room so he could duel Squall for old times sake. Squall had convinced her that it would be a demonstration for the cadets. She had only just agreed to such nonsense, or so she called it. "Guard."

Squall raised his Lionheart over his shoulder and darted a few steps forward and swung it on a downward diagonal. Seifer's blade was there to block it with a loud crash and a small flurry of sparks. A few of the students let off a cheer as the battle commenced, but Keladryie and Fureya stood on opposite ends of the wall, both watching intently. They'd never seen Squall and Seifer cross blades, only heard about the times they had.

After parrying another fierce blow, Seifer slid his blade underneath and out before swinging it in a high arc and bringing it down towards Squalls shoulder. Squall saw the movement as Seifer's body had taken a step back to free the blade and then his right side had moved forward to attack and was prepared for the arcing blade. Taking a gamble, he shifted off to the right and attacked the opened side of his opponent with the flat of his blade. He was rewarded with a stinging blow that skimmed his shoulder, but Seifer's ribs would ache for a while to come.

Keladryie slitted her jade gaze as she took in the graceful movements of the pair. They were defiantly evenly matched, so much that the outcome of a fight would be impossible to tell until it happened. She also noted that the two fighters knew each other's moves very well and neither of them seemed to land any more blows on the other. She shook out her mane of dark red hair as Fureya came over to stand next to her, thinking the same thoughts as her.

"They are just going to tire each other out." Fureya sighed and ran fingers through her ruffled black hair. Keladryie nodded in agreement.

"Dad always claimed he could best Squall any day. I'm going to assume that Squall said the same." Seeing Fureya's wry grin, Keladryie continued. "They were both making up faerie stories, they are just as good as each other." Fureya shook her head and sighed.

"I think I've seen enough, they actually seem to bore me." She stated softly. "I'm going to go get something to eat." Keladryie stared at Squall and Seifer; they weren't even sweating yet so no doubt it was going to be a lengthy duel.

"Wait for me Fureya." She sighed and the pair exited the room in silence.

"I believe our daughter's just left." Squall commented dryly as he paused in a defensive stance. "Fureya will definitely be grounded for such insubordination." Seifer glanced around the room and arched an eyebrow.

"They must think we aren't much entertainment." Seifer paused and shrugged. "A months grounding shall make Kella see otherwise." They shared a wry chuckle before crossing blades again, this time with more ferocity and determination to beat the other. 

~*~

Willard had snuck out of the Garden for the afternoon and was now sitting in the small forest by the Garden. He was leaning against a tree trunk and twisting a blade of grass in his nimble fingers.

His jumbled thoughts were driving him insane, so he'd snuck here to think. 

Fureya was the root of most of these thoughts; he couldn't help think wryly how complicated things seemed when she was around. Not bad complicated, just messy.

Firstly, her behaviour was quite erratic around him. Whenever he was in the presence of another female, she'd refuse to acknowledge his existence, otherwise when it was just them, she was normal but distant. She was different since she'd gone away, no since she'd met Annabelle. 

Secondly, there was the outburst before she'd left. He knew she was a girl it was kind of obvious. 

Willard's brow furrowed as he remember the tone of her voice and the look on her face when she'd said it. 

"Hey." A soft voice interrupted his thoughts. Looking up he found that Annabelle was standing in front of him.

"Oh, hey." He murmured as a slight pang of disappointment twisted his stomach. 

"Oh, hey?" Annabelle laughed softly and sat down next to him. "Expecting someone else were we?" She teased, pushing a curl of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.

"Of course not." He lied and mechanically put an arm around her shoulders. "What's up, Anna?" 

"Nothing really, just came looking for you." She purred and inched herself on to his lap. "It got boring back at Garden. Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy were duelling. It was so boring even their daughters left." She pouted, her blue eyes fixated on Willard's face.

"Fureya didn't stay to watch?" He asked, but continued without waiting for an answer. "That's strange." Annabelle shrugged her arm curling around Willard slowly. 

"Yeah, even stranger, she left with Keladryie." She commented and shrugged again. "But who cares, at least she wont disturb us again." She added bitterly before smiling at Will. She leant in and kissed an unresponsive Willard softly. Pulling back, she frowned and arched an eyebrow.

"What is it?" She demanded, slightly miffed by him. Willard's grey eyes turned serious as Garret's words floated back into his head.

_Denial over the love she has for you. She found you with Annabelle remember?_

"Annabelle now is not a good time." He said firmly. Annabelle shrugged carelessly. 

"I don't care." She said simply and leaned forward to kiss him again. Willard grunted and shoved the girl off of his lap and stood up. Annabelle paled with anger and stood up, brushing dirt off of her uniform. "You jerk." She snapped and strode off, reminding Willard of an offended cat.

In his mind, he knew things wouldn't be the same until he spoke to Fureya.

~*~

Willard Trepe strode down the hall with purpose. He was so wrapped up in this purpose that he wasn't watching where he was going.  
"Oof." Came the soft voice as his body rammed into something soft. From the feel of things, something soft and female.  
"I'm sorry." He said instantly with sincerity.  
"It's okay." Chimed a familar voice, causing him to really look at the person he'd ran into.  
"Fureya!" He blurted out, suddenly nervous by being at close proximaty with her. 

"That's me." She replied calmly. "Also, class is that way." She stated, pointing the way he'd came. "We have an early morning lecture about something, remember?" Frowning, Fureya noticed that Willards uniform collar was slightly skewiff and his shirt was hanging crookedly.  
"Fureya." He started with a slight hesitation, his nervousness growing by the minute. "I heard that you have... Well that you-" He paused as she reached up and straightened his collar, her knuckles brushing softly against his cheek. "Like knuckles, my cheek.. told me so.." He blurted, his composure lost. Fureya looked at him oddly as she yanked the bottom of his shirt as Macen laughed. He'd joined them intime to hear what had been said.  
"Fureya likes knuckles? Your cheek told you?" Macen let out a whoop of laughter and draped his arm across Fureya's shoulder. "C'mon, we'll be late if we listen to him babble any longer." He stated cheerfully as he guided Fureya towards the classroom leaving a red cheeked and confused Willard Trepe behind.

"Fool." He whispered to himself. It had been a simple task for him to do, find Fureya and ask her if what Garret said was true. If she'd said yes, he was just going to say that he didn't feel the same. He liked things the way they were, for now anyway. But he'd stuffed it up, he'd gotten nervous and forgot what he was going to say. He reminded himself of the times Macen or Garret had fallen for a girl and tried to confess to her. He paled in color when he realized what he'd just been thinking before looking around and fleeing to class.

~*~

Jan leant against the instructors desk as cadets almost his age filed into the classroom. Most of them stopped to stare at his uniform before taking their places with a slight spark of interest. He was happy to note one familiar face even if he didn't know her name, the girl who had boldly told him his uniform was wrong and that the headmistress would punish him for it.

When at last the door closed precisely the time class was due to start, Jan stood up straight.

"My name's Jan Fionn." He stated cheerfully. "And I am a SeeD member, but not your ordinary special force SeeD. I lead a squadron of airborne support SeeDs named Red Devils." He paused as the door slid open again to admit a late cadet.

"You are late, Trepe." Whippet said firmly. "Take your seat and see me after." The late cadet slunk into his seat and looked up curiously at Jan.

"Anyway." Continued Jan. "The airbourne support SeeDs have been around for only a short while which is why none of you have probably heard of us. Now, you are probably wondering why I'm telling a bunch of SeeD exam candidates this." He paused and scanned the classroom with cheery hazel brown eyes. "Well, seeing as how your exam is in three days, I was asked to bring myself and a specially equipped ship here to help." Instructor Whippet stood up and looked around sternly.

"Your field exam will consist of you splitting into groups and scouring the mountains of Trabia for a pair of kidnapped females. But the mountains are also riddled with the Galbadian army, so you will also need to liberate the area. We were employed to do this a fortnight ago, but due to a handful of blizzards, the Trabian passes wont be cleared for another few days, three to be exact. So SeeD Fionn will fly you to Trabia Garden in two days and you will then scale the mountains in your groups." As he spoke, a map of the Trabian mountains sprang up on everyones computer aswell as a picture of a little girl and a woman. "You will eradicate every Galbadian force you come across and meet at the top, they have also been stuck their for a fortnight so they will be weakened. Weakened or not, they wont be easy." He warned. "The pictures on your screen are Ellone and Melody Loire, they were kidnapped for their link with Estharian President Laguna Loire. They must be recovered." He paused and scanned the room again. "The written exam is tomorrow, those of you who pass will be taking the field exam. You have the rest of the day off to study. Dismissed."

As the class filed out, Willard tried to sneak out but was caught by the Instructor and given the punishment of helping the women in the cafeteria all of the upcoming Sunday.


	11. Shiva the Maiden of Ice

The passing rate of the exam was as usual, sixty-five percent of the exam candidates passed. Those included were Keladryie, Fureya, Willard, Amelia, Macen and Garret.

For the Field exam those six made up two of the five groups of three. Keladryie, Willard and Amelia were squad A and their Squad leader was Instructor Whippet while Fureya, Macen and Garret made up Squad B with Weapons Mistress Kumara as the Squad leader. Everyone was surprised the finicky old woman was SeeD and very capable.

The squads were huddled in the Ragnarok II; the ship was almost a carbon copy of the one Squall had brought back from space but with more modern technology. 

"I hope we find the pair." Fureya murmured to Macen as she glanced around at the faces of her fellow cadets. "They look familiar." Willard scoffed softly and stared at Fureya.

"That's your Aunt Ellone and your cousin Melody, of course they are familiar." He stated. Fureya's eyebrows shot up.

"Obviously another thing Father forgot to tell me." She muttered and shot Willard a sweet smile as the Ragnarok II landed. Willards stomach did a flip at the sight of her smile, but he put it down to nerves. 

They all disembarked and were given maps of the areas that were theirs to survey and patrol.

"Willard." Fureya called softly, as Quistis was telling them that the order to withdraw takes prioriety. 

"What is it?" He whispered, looking down at her.

"Don't get hurt, okay?" She whispered back softly and pulled on his collar, bringing his face close to hers as she kissed him.

"Move out!" Quistis called out as Fureya pulled away. She saluted Willard with rosy cheeks and followed Kumara, Macen and Garret as they headed up trail B. 

Willard put his hand to his lips and stared down trail B until Keladryie elbowed him savagely.

"Stop acting like a girl and lets go." She demanded and followed Whippet and Amelia up their designated trail.

~*~

"Weapons out!" Fureya called softly as she lead the group around a turn a couple of hours later. She squatted next to a patch of churned snow riddled with footsteps. Shaking out her damp hair, she gripped her naginata tightly and slowly proceeded around the corner with Macen, Garret and Kumara close behind her. 

Frowning, she noticed that the snow became almost untouched a few scarce metres ahead. Holding her hand up, she signalled for those behind her to stop and be silent. Gripping the wooden staff tightly, she moved the bladed end in a circle around her, searching warily for any clue of where the enemy was hiding. 

Hearing a slight rustle to her left, she swung around to face the noise, her actions signalling to her party members as uniform clad Galbadian soldiers sprang from the snow coated bushes.

Macen sprang forward, his gloved fists meeting targets solidly as Garrets sword flashed in the sunlight everytime he attacked. One nasty looking soldier circled around Fureya with a machine gun firmly planted in his hands. Skipping forward as the opponent slipped on a bit of ice, she thrust her glaive point deep into his abdomen before yanking it upwards and pulling it out. Her nose wrinkled and her stomach turned as the stench from the mans sliced intenstines reached her. Looking around, she saw only dead soldiers and proceeded to throw up in the snow. Macen came over and patted her shoulder as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and took a deep drink from her water flask.

"So children." Kumara spoke up as Garret and her dragged the bodies into the bushes, to cover their trail. "You have blood on your hands and weapons, its not all glory. Shall we continue?" 

There were more battles and more killings, some with honour and some with dirty tricks. But it was pretty uneventful, each team member took turns at leading the squads under the watchful eyes of their squad leaders. 

It was Keladryie who found the missing pair. They were wandering down the side of the trail, lost. Ellone had sent them to their past and slipped out with Melody after she'd heard the passes were clear; they'd kept her drugged but due to the snow in, they'd ran out of supplies. So with the pair secure, the group headed straight for the pick up point. 

Fureya cursed softly as she realized what predicament her squad was in, they had been caught on an icy ledge by four soldiers, two behind them and two infront, cut off completely. 

Signalling each other, they attacked their foes and engaged in fierce battle. 

Fureya had opened many shallow cuts on her enemy when the sword welding male realized he was going to lose unless he pulled something sneaky. Working his way around the ledge so he was standing on the very edge, he purposefully left an opening that Fureya could lunge for. Just as Kumara and Macen's foes were beaten, she skipped forward and thrusted the bladed end of her glaive towards the mans heart. He sneered at her as he pivoted out of the way. Fureya let out a soft gasp as she tumbled over the edge and down the long drop of the cliff.

"Fureya!" Called Garret as he sliced open the thick vein in his opponents neck. Racing forward, he ran Fureyas opponent through with his sword and kneeled at the edge of the icy cliff, but there was no sign of her anywhere. 

"We have to keep going." Kumara said gently. "She couldn't of survived that fall, and if she did, we have to finish our mission and then come back, you know the protocol in these situations. She has training, she'll be okay." 

Garret and Macen stared helplessly at the edge before continuing their ascent.

~*~

At the pick up zone, they were the second squad there. Squad A with Willard, Keladryie, Amelia and Instructor Whippet were waiting with Jan and Quistis.

Willard scanned the small group quickly before staring at the rise they'd come over. 

"Where is Candidate Leonheart?" Headmistress Trepe said quietly.

"She went over a cliff ma'am." Kumara started firmly. "Some Galbadian forced her over, she went down fighting.'

"Fureya." Whispered Willard as he brushed gloved fingertips over his cold lips. Numbly he walked to the rise and stared down at the trail. Quistis came up behind him and gripped his forearm tightly.

"If you go down after her, you'll lose your chance to be a SeeD." She warned softly. "Wait til everyones here and then Ill send a search party." Willard sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"What if she's hurt or in danger, Mum?" He growled unreasonably and pulled his arm from his mothers grip and stalked back to the waiting group. As he sat down and stared at the stark white snow, he realized that Fureya did mean something to him, she meant a lot to him and was probably the first person he'd ever wanted to love more than he'd wanted to fool around with. 

"Please come back, Fureya." He whispered hoarsely.

~*~

As Fureya fell, she realized she was going to die. She was going to hit the ground and break. Tears slid down her cheeks, four in quick succession. 

They swirled around each other and smashed into the ground and formed a huge ice crystal with a pale blue figure encased inside. The ice shattered harmlessly and slender blue arms reached out, catching the falling girl in her arms.

Fureya opened her eyes and stared up at the smiling pale blue face with mesmerizing sapphire eyes.

"That was quite a fall." She said softly as Fureya slid to the ground and stood on her own two feet.

"Who are you?" She asked in confusion as she stared at the scantily dressed ice blue figure with long flowing blonde locks.

"I'm Shiva, first born of the Guardian Forces and you are my reborn form." Leaning over Shiva pressed her icy lips against Fureya's. 

Information instantly flooded Fureya's mind. Fureya lived through memories that weren't hers and life times of people she didn't know. Falling to her knees, she covered her ears and screamed as her nose started to bleed from the shock.

"I'm sorry Fureya." The ice maiden cooed softly and laid an icy hand on Fureya's forehead, retracting the information that she deemed unnecessary. "I can't control the information I give, just what I take and you needed to know what I had to tell." Fureya turned her pain-glazed eyes up to the Guardian as her nosebleed slowed and stopped. 

"I-I don't un-understand." She stammered and her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted. Shiva smiled wryly and gathered her reincarnate in her arms and started to carry her down the mountain and out of the cold because she'd heard it was bad for humans.

~*~

Willard stared around the bottom of the ledge in despair for any sign of Fureya, but there was none. It was like she'd never existed.

"I'm sorry Will." Quistis said softly. "We have to go back to Trabia Garden, it's getting dark. We can come back tomorrow morning, okay?" Willard agreed begrudgingly and looked around one last time before plodding down the side of the hill behind his mother.

_I'll be back tomorrow to find you Fureya._ He promised silently. _I have to tell you…_


	12. Diablos the Winged Demon

Shiva stared down at the still unconscious female in her arms, knowing she wouldn't recover from the information overload until she'd rested properly. She also knew she couldn't walk in there carrying a missing SeeD candidate without arousing too many questions. Setting down Fureya in a drift of snow, she clasped the girl's head in her hands and leant her forehead against Fureya's. Shiva exploded in a flurry of crystal flakes and Fureya opened her eyes.

Climbing to her feet she moved to toss her hair over her shoulder and grimaced as she realized it wasn't long enough. Fureya's now sapphire gaze scanned the area as she started to walk, hopefully in the direction of Trabia Garden.

~*~

Willard ran nervous fingers through his hair and slunk out of the room that had been set up to house the search party; Impatient as ever he wanted to do something to help. He couldn't help think that if he'd been there with her, things would be different.

He climbed up into one of the sentry towers that dotted the perimeter of the rebuilt Garden. Extra defences had been put in place to help Trabia stand its ground.

He knew his mother would murder him if he went out there looking for her and he also knew that he would probably do more harm then help if he got lost in the dark. Feeling helpless he borrowed a pair of binoculars off of the sleepy sentry and scanned the horizon repeatedly for the next hour. He ignored any sort of conversation the sentry tried to initiate and kept his unwavering focus on the land in front of him. Willard knew the chance of her walking up to the front gate was almost non-existent, but he had to do something. 

Another silent hour passed and a glance at his watch told him it was ten o'clock and the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees and a fresh layer of snow had started to fall when he spotted a sluggishly moving figure break through the line of trees on the left. Dropping the borrowed binoculars, he fled the room without hearing the smash of the dropped objects. 

When he reached the Garden entrance, the figure was closer and to Willard's eyes, unmistakably Fureya. 

"Fureya!" He called and grasped her firmly when he reached her. Fureya turned her face up to Willard's and smiled shakily. Willard froze; her normally grey eyes were icy blue.

"Take care of Fureya." A tired voice said from her lips as the blueness faded leaving dull grey irises. Almost instantly, her eyes rolled up in her head and collapsed into his arms. Willard instantly tightened his grip around the girl, changing it so he could pick her up and carry her inside to the Garden.

~*~

Back in Balamb Garden, Keladryie had returned with the others and was now making her way to the training grounds. The results on the SeeD exam had been postponed until Fureya was brought back to Balamb. 

Weaving deep into the training centre among all the leafy branches, Keladryie came across a gnat. She made quick work of it, severing a few of its arm like body parts before impaling it savagely. 

Moving even deeper into a clump of bushes, she searched for more. Finding them, she killed them quickly before pressing on deeper into the heart of the dense bush.

She was surprised when she found a clearing and looked around curiously. Miniature looking gnats instantly surrounded her as her heart skipped a beat; she'd stumbled into a nest of them. 

Slowly, she tried to edge out of the moving mass of the infants but accidentally stood on one. The injured gnat let out a shrill shriek, drawing the attention of the adult gnats that instantly surrounded Keladryie. 

Keladryie swallowed heavily and gripped the hilt of her Hyperion and charged the nearest one, ending its life in an instant. Her movement instantly set all of the surrounding gnats on her.  Swinging her blade desperately, she fought hard against the onslaught of gnats. She held her own for a short while, but eventually the sheer numbers of infant, adolescent and adult gnats started to overpower her. 

Ripping a weighted throwing blade from her belt, she flung it at a gnat and missed. The blade sunk deep into the ground and seemed to melt into a growing inky pool. It stopped growing and rippled as a black and crimson winged figure exploded out of the inky ground. 

He unfurled his wings and glided over and extracted a breathless Keladryie from the fight. Cradling her in his arms, he calmly flew to the exit of the centre and set himself down lightly.

"Who are you?" Keladryie panted, tightening her hold on her blade in case the winged creature wanted trouble.

"I was called Diablos by my mother." He said simply and dropped Keladryie on to the ground. Wincing and climbing to her feet, she stared at the creature taking in every black line and crimson patch.

"You had a mother?" She said scornfully and rubbed her backside.  Diablos let out a hoarse laugh and shrugged his powerful shoulders.

"You'd be surprised." He stated and looked her over. "I was reincarnated as a female?" He growled sceptically and laid a leathery hand on Keladryie's forehead. 

A controlled influx of information flooded her brain and she reeled back away from his hand before sliding to the ground; passed out cold. 

Diablos let out a pensive sigh and gathered the girl up in his arms again and exited in the direction of the infirmary. Unlike his sister he had no qualms about being seen.

And seen he was, but no body approached him and he offered no words to them.

Entering the infirmary he glared at the doctor in charge, Dr Moora. 

"She needs rest." He said gruffly and laid Keladryie on one of the cots before exploding into a burst of midnight colored bats. 

~*~

Squall entered the infirmary a couple of hours later with his daughter sleeping peacefully in his arms.

"I don't think she's in danger, but I would prefer she was watched and examined when she wakes." He told the doctor as he laid Fureya in the other cot. Glancing at Keladryie he raised a questioning eyebrow at Dr. Moora who shrugged.

"She was brought in unconscious about three hours ago by a black and red winged creature. He said basically what you just said now." She informed him as she bustled over to check out her newest patient. 

Squall stared at the girl silently before walking out, a thoughtful expression on his face.

~*~

It was two days before the pair awoke in perfect health. Neither of them said a word about what had happened to them. 

An hour later, Keladryie, Willard, Fureya, Amelia, Macen and Garret stood before Headmistress Trepe with a handful of other newly appointed SeeD members. 

"Congratulations all of you. You have passed the final test as SeeD candidates and now your destiny lies before you full of harder days and harder tests. You are now fully qualified as Balamb special forces and will be required to fight for reasons other than your own and for people you've never met before." Quistis said shortly and smiled at them all. "Now go change and go enjoy the inauguration ball!"

Fureya smoothed her new uniform skirt and grinned at Amelia.

"Ready to go?" She said cheerfully. Amelia nodded and smiled just as cheerfully.

The pair exited their shared dorm that they had opted to stay in instead of the single dorms and practically skipped down the corridor. Tension free for the first time in a while, the air surrounding the new SeeD members was light; even Keladryie had a smile for Fureya and Amelia.

"Congrats Keladryie." Fureya and Amelia chimed sincerely as she joined their group.

"Yeah, you too." She said gruffly and flashed them a smile.

The three of them entered the ballroom together, smiling and happy. They drifted apart temporarily to go talk to their present parents.

After receiving gruff words of pride from Squall, she glanced around the room and made a beeline for a waitress with a tray full of crystal glasses. Fureya took one with a word of thanks and sipped the golden liquid curiously. She wrinkled her nose at the taste of champagne and took another sip.

"Fureya. Congratulations." Willard murmured softly as he slid up next to her. Fureya turned to face him, butterflies in her stomach at the sound of his voice. 

"Congratulations yourself." She murmured shyly and took another sip. "Also, I heard you were the one that found me. Thanks." Willard looked away as he remembered the circumstances he'd found her under, those ice like eyes still worried him. He chose not to say anything as the band struck up a familiar song opening.

"My Grandmother wrote this song." Fureya commented and smiled at her father who was in deep conversation with Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas and Seifer Almasy and from the looks of things, Seifer was stirring up the blonde martial artist. Zell was pulling a few air punches in Seifer's general direction.

Without warning, Willard removed Fureya's glass from her hand and handed it to Macen as he wandered over.

"Dance with me Reya." He murmured and led her out to the spacious dance floor without waiting for an answer. Fureya shot Macen an apologetic smile as she was led away.

Stopping, Willard laid his hand on her waist and held her smaller hand in his own as she laid her other hand on his shoulder gently. Slowly and with deliberate carefulness, the pair started to follow through the routine steps of the waltz. They were barely in time with the music, but it didn't bother them much. 

_My last night here for you  
Same old songs, just once more  
My last night here with you?  
Maybe yes, maybe no_

Grey eyes held grey eyes as the world around them merged into a unnoticed blur. Niether of them wanted the moment to end and neither of them wanted to think of what tomorrow would bring for them. Tomorrow promised work and paying clientele who would require SeeD members with their minds on their jobs. Tomorrow would split them up and send them in different directions.

_  
I kind of liked it your your way  
How you shyly placed your eyes on me  
Oh, did you ever know?  
That I had mine on you._

Fureya leant over as the music came to a halt and kissed Willard softly. Pulling away, she smiled sadly at him.

"Macen and I have to head for Esthar. We've been employed to replace the two SeeD who were injured while clearing Estharian streets of remaining monsters. So it would be best if we parted on a happy note, my placing will take considerable time." She saluted him swiftly. "Good luck with your own operations." She forced herself to turn away and leave him standing there at a loss for words.

Willard saw the sense in her hurtful words and turned away from her retreating figure to go outside and brood on the balcony. 

"Will." Macen called as him and Garret followed him. Willard turned to face him, his grey eyes sharp and serious.

"You take care of her Dincht." He warned quietly. Macen nodded and saluted him.

"Anything for a friend." Macen promised as Garret leant against the railing. 

"We've got our assignment too Will." He drawled. "You, me and Almasy will be going to Deling. Traces of a sorceress were found there by one of Odine's instruments. We will be hunting around for any word, sight or sound of this sorceress whilst Squall leads Annabelle, Amelia and two other SeeD members; I forgot their names, into Galbadia Garden. Rumour has it that they were harbouring the very same sorceress." He finished and dusted some dirt off of his new uniform. Willard grimaced.

"Sound's like a wild goose chase." He grumbled, drawing a shrug from Garret.

"Maybe, but as SeeD its our job to prove them to be rumours." He commented quietly.

"I know I know." Willard mumbled as he ran fingers through his hair. "I just hope they are rumours and it is a wild goose chase."


	13. Carbuncle the Curious

~ Chapter Twelve ~

Dressed in casual clothes, Fureya packed a small duffel bag with a couple of changes of clothes and some weapons maintenance kits. Her finally made Naginata had been lost when she'd tumbled off the cliff in Trabia, leaving her with her short sword and daggers. The weapons mistress had kindly lent her one of the finer made katana's as a primary weapon until she replaced her lost Naginata.  

She walked out of her dorm and practically ran into Macen as he went to knock on her door.

"Good timing." He said cheerfully and started for the entrance. Fureya stopped and glanced down the hall. "Go see him, I'll meet you at the front." Macen murmured softly, taking her duffel from her. Fureya offered him a small smile, pulling an envelope out of her pocket as she strode over to his dorm.

Knocking on the door, there was a drawn out pause before Willard answered the door. Obviously Fureya had woken him by the looks of his tousled hair and glazed eyes. 

"Fureya." He said, instantly awake. Fureya offered him an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry to wake you Will." She whispered sincerely. "I just wanted to say goodbye before I left." Fureya held out the pink envelope towards him. "I wrote this for you last night. It sounds kind of silly, but when you miss me the most, read it then and only then. Maybe it might make things easier."  Fureya blushed and looked away, feeling slightly foolish. Willard said nothing for a long moment before pulling Fureya into a tight embrace, hugging her tightly.

"Don't go off and get hurt okay, Reya?" Willard murmured, letting her go reluctantly and taking the letter.

"Same for yourself, Will." She laughed softly. Willard suddenly cupped her face in his hands and kissed her swiftly before letting her go.

"See you soon, Fureya." He promised firmly, looking her in the eye. Lost for words, Fureya nodded numbly and fled. Willard smiled distantly at her figure and shut the door, tucking the envelope into his half packed duffel bag. 

~*~

"Trepe!" Shouted Keladryie as she bashed her fists loudly on his dorm door. "Let's go already you lazy piece of-" She was cut off as Willard opened the door and shoved her backwards.

"For crying out loud, you are one loud chit." He growled and strode out past her. Keladryie growled and stormed after him, muttering under her breath about the thing's she would do to him if they missed their train to Deling City, while a chuckling Garret just followed them lazily. 

They did make it in time for the train, with a few minutes to spare. Willard had great pleasure in pointing that out to Keladryie who instantly told him to shut his mouth or she'd do it for him. 

The train ride was pretty uneventful with Kella and Will only crossing verbal swords a handful of times. 

As they had been told, Kaddar met them at Deling Station. Kaddar had been chosen to navigate around Deling City to make their task easier.

"Yo." He said when he spotted them. "I'm Kaddar, nice to meet ya'll." He drawled brightly. He flashed Keladryie a bright grin and shook hands with Willard.

"Shall we go now?" Keladryie said sulkily, coming to the conclusion she was surrounded by testosterone driven morons. Kaddar nodded and turned serious, surprising Kella slightly.

"Traces of magic that's unrelated to para-magic were found in an old warehouse on the north side. We are to go over there and check it out. As soon as the magic traces showed up on Odine's radar, they secured the building to wait for us. No one has come out or gone in at all." He spoke as he walked over to a car that had seen better days.

"Impressive car." Drawled Keladryie as she climbed into the front passengers seat. Kaddar flashed her a cheeky smile.

"If I had of known a pretty lady was coming, I would have stolen my fathers car." He teased lightly as he started the car. Keladryie sat there in silence as they drove, confused by the older Leonhart sibling. 

At the warehouse, the group of four youths were instantly admitted. Arming themselves, they split into two groups to scour the area. Willard and Garret paired off and headed down the left side, leaving Keladryie with Kaddar.

"Well come on then." He said cheerfully and rested his gunblade on his shoulder. "Nice blade too." He commented before striding off, his brown eyes sharp as he searched the area. Silently, Keladryie followed him slightly disgruntled by him and his infectious smile. 

The four met in a cleared space, drawn in by a soft green light that seemed to glow constantly.

Willard was especially drawn to it, subconsciously reached out to it. Almost instantly, the light faded and small green furred creature leaped onto his shoulder.

"Howdy." The bright little creature chirped, nuzzling Willard's neck gently.

"Oh gross." He growled and ripped the creature off of his shoulder and held it up. "What are you?"

"I'm Carbuncle, the imp of protection." He said cheerfully and rubbed his muzzle against Willard's hand. "You are my mortal form, meaning you are capable of holding my spirit within your body without suffering the side affects." He explained affectionately. "When our mother blasted us, she released our spirits from our bodies and formed us Guardian Forces. We had to wait for our physical bodies were reborn so we could end the Sorceress line. Without our bodies, we can harm Sorceresses and even kill them, but we can't stop the power from transferring. I've been waiting for you, Willard."

Willard stared at the green creature in disdain.

"Are you telling me that I am a reincarnate of a tiny little wimpy creature?" He said slowly. Carbuncle's eyes dimmed and he stopped trying to get back onto Willard's shoulder. 

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely, his head drooping. Willard instantly felt bad and set the creature back on his shoulder.

"Sorry." He murmured. "I'm just surprised. That's all." Carbuncle instantly perked up and curled up affectionately around Willard's neck. "Are you saying there are more of us?" Willard wanted to know as he sighed. Carbuncle nodded.

"Diablos and Shiva have found their bodies in girls named Keladryie and Fureya." Carbuncle chirped and thrust his wet nose into Willard's ear who let out a loud yell.

"Carbuncle, leave the poor human alone." A heavy voice commanded. Will glanced over at Keladryie who had a tall winged demon standing next to her. "He's not used to your constant affections like Shiva is." Carbuncle made a soft barking noise that resembled a laugh and waved a paw at Diablos.

"My sister is one of these as well?" Kaddar asked softly, stepping forward to take a closer look at Diablos who glared at him with crimson eyes.

"Fureya Leonhart!" Chirped Carbuncle. "She has taken Shiva's body. Yup yup!" Silently, Willard ran a hand over Carbuncles fur while digesting this information.

"So what are we to do?" He murmured as Carbuncle emitted a soft purring noise. 

"Find the remaining two humans and eradicate the sorceress." A hissing voice said from the shadows. 

Slowly a glimmering blue-scaled serpent slithered forward.

"Leviathan!" Carbuncle cried out gleefully, his eyes bright with happiness. 

Leviathan ignored him and curled around Garret's feet and stared up at him with huge unblinking eyes.

"You know the story." He hissed, drawing a nod from Garret.

"Dude. Even Garret has a more manly Spirit than I do." Complained Willard plaintively. Garret snorted as Carbuncle let out a soft whining noise and nuzzled Willard's neck. "Okay, Okay. I'm sorry!" 

Diablos and Leviathan faded into the background after exchanging a glance, but Carbuncle remained brightly visible. Willard sighed inwardly and scratched the green creature behind one of his ears.

"Carbuncle like!" He squealed as one of his long furred feet slid off of Will's shoulders. 

~*~

After radioing Odine and telling him the magic tracked was that of a Guardian Force, they were told to stay at Leonharts house and catch the early morning train to Galbadia Garden to meet up with Squall's squad. 

"Okay. Sleeping space." Kaddar murmured as he idly scratched a shaggy grey dogs ear. "What do you reckon Angelo?" The old greyed dog looked up at him sullenly and gave a halfhearted yip. "Just as I thought. Keladryie you can have the spare room, Garret can have my room and I'll stay in my Dad's room." He gave Angelo one last scratch and stretched, they'd eaten on the way back home. 

"Err, Kaddar?" Willard said curiously. "Where am I going to sleep?" Kaddar grinned and shrugged.

"Fureya's room. I'm assuming you would miss her by now, so as long as you don't go through her stuff, you are very welcome to sleep there." Keladryie stared at Kaddar for a moment, surprised by how sweet he was being. Even though it wasn't blatantly obvious, it was still there. Willard offered Kaddar a ghost of a smile as thanks and followed Kaddar's directions to Fureya's room. 

Entering it, he looked around slowly at the slightly messy tomboyish room. Picking up one of the framed photographs, he noticed a picture of Squall and Rinoa dancing. They looked really happy in the photo. Moving on, he looked at a few others. Most of them were of Rinoa and Squall. Some of them had Kaddar in it. The one sitting directly on Fureya's beside table was a picture of Rinoa, Squall and a young Kaddar. Also cradled in Rinoa's slender arms was tiny baby wrapped in a pink rug. 

Looking at it, he realized it was probably the closest thing to a family portrait Fureya had. Putting it down gently, he smiled and stifled a yawn.

"That was really nice of you." Keladryie murmured softly as Garret excused himself to go lay down. Kaddar grinned and shrugged as he sat down on the couch next to Keladryie and handed her a cold drink.

"Fureya never told me they were together, but it was kind of obvious." He commented and took a long draught of soda. Keladryie laughed and nodded.

"Trepe is like a fool in love." She commented. Kaddar looked at her closely and smiled at her. Keladryie felt her stomach contract and she looked away as she felt her cheeks warm up.

"I believe Trepe is a fool in love." He murmured coolly and reached over tucking some of her hair behind her ear. 

"Stop that." Keladryie mumbled lamely, drawing a husky chuckle out of Kaddar. A warm hand caught Keladryie's chin and made her face him.

"You're a very pretty and smart girl." He murmured and kissed her briefly. When he pulled away, Keladryie stared at him and threw her drink at him before storming off outside, beet red in colour. 

"I think she likes you." A dry voice came from the hallway. Kaddar turned and smiled lazily at Garret. 

"I was hoping so. I've never met anyone like her."

Keladryie clenched her fist and punched the rough bark of a tree fiercely; again and again until her emotions had settled and she felt calmer. 

It wasn't that she didn't like the kiss; it was nice. It was just she didn't want it or the feelings that bubbled up inside her. 

Stupid Kaddar and his stupid kisses.

Keladryie sighed and leant against the tree as she winced. Her knuckles were split and bleeding and would probably bruise tomorrow. 

"That's going to be painful tomorrow." Kaddar spoke up as Keladryie glared at her knuckles. 

"What do you want?" She grumbled sulkily. Kaddar smiled at her and tossed her a little glass bottle.

"That's a potion in that bottle. If you pour it over your knuckles it will heal them." He stated cheerfully before he went back inside. Keladryie's expression softened as she cradled the cool bottle in her hands.

"Thanks." She whispered to the door he went through.


	14. The past hurts

_~Chapter Thirteen~_

Fureya ran on, her legs pumping steadily as she chased down the fleeing Iron Giant. They'd told her not to worry too much about those that fled because they usually left Esthar, but Fureya held her oath as a SeeD close. Which meant if she were hired to eradicate fiends, she would give her last breath to do so.

She was already sporting a few battle wounds from when they'd discovered a small congregation of Iron Giants. They'd killed all except this one she was chasing down.

"Fureya!" Macen called as he ran after her. The other SeeD were caught up in a civilian dispute about the five corpses lying in front of houses.

Fureya barely acknowledged him as she ran on; she had nearly caught up on him. Wrenching a dagger out of its sheath she threw it at him with fierce aim. The Iron Giant grunted as the dagger buried itself in his shoulder and turned to face his attacker. His giant hands firm on the hilt of his massive sword.

Fureya slid to a stop and grinned in triumph at the Giant as she slid her Katana out ready for battle. The massive monster swung its blade and Fureya lithely jumped over it as Macen slid to a stop next her, his gloved fists raised. 

"Let's whoop some Iron ass." Macen grinned cheerfully and ducked under the Iron Giant's sword to land a flurry of hard blows against him. Fureya instantly followed his lead and slashed his legs, dodging the stream of blood that spat out.

A millisecond too late, Fureya jumped out of the way and was sent flying by the flat of his massive blade. Her small frame was smashed squarely against the steel wall of a convenience store. Grunting, Fureya bit her lip and got to her feet. Her body was enclosed in pearly shimmer as she stepped forward confidently. 

A pair of snow white wings burst from her back and stretched out before wrapping around Fureya. Within seconds the wings exploded into a flurry of soft white feathers and Fureya's speed, agility and strength rose. Charging forward, Fureya readied her blade and began to slash at her opponent numerous times. When the effects began to fade she reversed her blade in a full circle and leaped out of the reach of the Iron Giant. Macen watched in awe as the Giant let out a roar and slumped to the ground, dead. Macen let out a whoop and turned in time to catch Fureya as her legs gave way under her.

"What was that?" He asked as he slung her arm around his shoulder. 

"Roanoke." She answered. "My limit break." Macen whistled softly.

 "Not too bad." He commented as they walked back towards the Presidential Palace where they were staying. "That explains why you can barely stand up. I'm the same after mine." Fureya grinned at him as her strength slowly returned to her.

Back at the Palace, Fureya was taken aside by a lithe dark skinned man by the name of Kiros.

"You are wanted by President Loire." He said with a friendly smile as he supported her. Together they walked down the hall slowly as Fureya wondered what her Grandfather could want with her.

Kiros kindly put her in a chair as Laguna walked in.

"Fureya! Welcome!" He cheered brightly as he took a seat opposing her. "I know you've probably had a long day, but I haven't seen you in a while." Fureya relaxed slightly as he spoke, it was just a family get together of sorts. 

A door to her left opened to admit a willowy brunette with a golden haired angel on her hip. "Elle and Melody also wanted to say hello." Ellone put Melody down and the five-year-old girl rushed over and threw herself at Fureya.

"Rei! Rei! Rei!" Melody squealed as she hugged her tight.

"Hey Melee." Fureya laughed as she returned the hug, watching Ellone sit in a seat beside Laguna. 

They chatted idly for about forty-five minutes before little Melody let off a yawn that would rival a lions. Laguna instantly stood up and scooped the little girl up in his arms.

"Come on little girl." He murmured cheerfully. "To bed with you." With a nod to Ellone and Fureya, he left the room to put the girl to bed.

"Auntie Elle…" Fureya asked hesitantly after he'd left. "Could you do something for me?" Ellone looked at her curiously before nodding with a slight smile.

"You want me to send you into the past so you can see your mother?" She suggested quietly, drawing a blush from the younger female. Ellone chuckled softly and nodded slightly. "Just a glimpse and as long as you know I wont always do this, you can't change the past but I can give you some memories."  

Ellone leant forward and smiled at Fureya as a soft whine built up between the girls ears and she blacked out.

_A moonlit ballroom, the same one that she and Willard had danced in appeared before her. Looking down she saw herself in a male SeeD uniform and a dull ache across the bridge of her nose told her she'd been recently hurt there; she was in the mind of her father. Turning her attention she noticed a young woman with raven hair staring at her/Squall. It was her mother. She came over and demanded a dance from her/Squall. _

_She eventually did drag Squall out on to the dance floor and Squall had done a right job of messing up the steps. But then Rinoa had smiled at him and everything had gone right, the dance was perfect.  _

_The scene then changed and she was still Squall, but she was fighting a pair of huge Iguana like creatures with a younger version of Irvine by her side. After they'd defeated the reptilians she watched as her/Squall walked over to a motionless figure behind their bodies. It was Rinoa again. She moved quickly and wrapped her fingers around the black leather of Squalls jacket._

_"I was so scared." She whispered, looking up at Squall with wide brown eyes. _

_The scene changed again and Squall was operating a grass green jet pack, she watched as she/Squall manoeuvred it towards a blue figure hanging precariously of the damaged side of Balamb Garden. She watched on as Squall rescued Rinoa._

_The scene changed again and Fureya realized she was in space. Fureya/Squall caught a figure in a bulky space suit; Rinoa. _

_Another scene flashed before Fureya. There was white smoke everywhere and suddenly a fragile looking Rinoa stumbled through it in to her/Squalls arms. She could practically feel the warmth of her mothers embrace for the first time._

_The scene changed and she watched as a younger Zell rushed forward to lay a few blows on a tall red haired woman. Looking the woman over, Fureya realized that Rinoa was firmly attached to the woman's chest. She felt the anguish of Squall as they rushed forward and attacked the woman, narrowly missing Rinoa._

_The scene changed and she was in a car, looking over at the ocean. Turning to her right she saw a heartbroken, crying Rinoa. Rinoa was looking sadly at a crying infant girl in the back seat. Fureya instantly realized it was her and the scene flashed again. Squall was standing on the cliff edge, watching a car tumble over the edge. A fierce pain twisted through her chest and everything went black_

"Fureya?" Ellone's voice roused her and brought her to. "Are you alright?" Fureya sat up and realized she had hot tears sliding down her cheeks.

"I saw it.." She croaked and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I saw the accident." Fureya curled her knees up to her chest and let the tears fall. Ellone gently wrapped her arms around her foster niece and rocked her.

"I'm sorry, Fureya." She murmured sincerely. 

~*~

Squall rubbed his chin as he studied Amerada across the desk.

"You're telling me you've no idea why traces of a sorceress were found here at Galbadia Garden?" He murmured sceptically. The woman nodded and gritted her teeth in exasperation.

"That is what I said, SeeD Leonhart." She snapped curtly and stood up. "Now if you don't mind, I do have more important things to attend to than your wild goose chase." Squall got to his feet and looked at her for a long movement before exiting the office and signalling to Annabelle and Amelia; the other two SeeD were sneaking around through the Garden for any sort of solid evidence.

Together the three of them exited the Garden and perched themselves on one of the short brick walls outside.

"Suspicious?" Annabelle said in a bored tone as she examined her pale pink nails. Squall narrowed his gaze at her and nodded grimly.

"Very." He breathed and looked up at the sky. "We just have to wait for Kaddar to bring the Deling City Squad here before we can investigate more." He stood up and flexed out his arms. "Annabelle you can wait here for Luke and Mael." He ordered, knowing it would vex the irritating girl a lot.

"Whatever." She grumbled and pulled a small nail file out of her pocket and began to file her near immaculate nails. 

~*~

Keladryie stared at Squall quietly as he spoke. The plan had been too find whatever it was they were hiding, but instead they'd searched every nook and cranny. There was no Sorceress, just another Guardian Force; Ifrit. Ifrit was the Guardian of a hardly surprised Amelia. After profusely apologising to Amerada, Squall had left Galbadia and they were now on a train home.

"A wild goose chase." He complained tiredly, mirroring Keladryie's thoughts. "What a waste of time." Keladryie let out a drawn out sigh and picked up a Weapons Monthly, peering at Kaddar over the top of it. 

Willard was sitting cross-legged in the corner and staring out the window. He wondered what Fureya was doing, thinking and seeing. He sighed softly as Kaddar dropped down beside him. 

"I don't approve of such faces when I know that you're thinking of my kid sister." Kaddar joked, drawing an undignified snort from Keladryie, muffled by the magazine. Kaddar glanced at her slyly and winked at her, making her turn red and focus really hard on the magazine.  Squall glanced over at Willard curiously, as if assessing him silently.

"Shuddup Kaddar." He growled and elbowed him swiftly. Kaddar laughed loudly and stood up.

"Have you kissed her yet?" Kaddar grinned wickedly as Squall's eyebrow rose an inch. "Or do you just pout for her?" Willard turned a strange shade of red and stood up.

"I'd ask you the same about Almasy, but Garret told me you already kissed her." He retorted. A soft choking noise came from Keladryie as she fell off the seat she was sitting on. Kaddar glanced at her and then at a conveniently busy Garret.

"Well atleast I ain't chicken!" Kaddar grinned and walked over and picked up Keladryie off the floor. She stared at him wildly as he kissed her sweetly, in front of all them. When he let her go he grinned wickedly at her.

"I do believe that is enough." Squall said quietly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Keladryie blinked for a moment before laying a fierce punch on Kaddar's shoulder.

"You jerk!" She shouted, her eyes hard. Kaddar just smiled at her and rubbed his arm.

"I thought you liked me." He said cheerfully and sat down. Keladryie walked over and sat in a corner, brooding. 


	15. Homecoming

_~Chapter Fourteen~_

Fureya sat on her makeshift bed with her arms curled around her legs tightly. Her chin was resting thoughtful on her knees as she closed her watery eyes. She wasn't crying because she was miserable, but because she was happy. It was a bittersweet feeling, seeing her mother in the moments before she'd died and in the moments when she'd been truly happy with her Father. Rocking slightly, she remembered her Mothers smiling face and the smell of lilies that seemed to cloud her. She sniffed slightly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and opened her eyes. At that moment, she wished Willard were there more than anything. She wanted to tell him everything she saw and she missed his embrace and his kisses. Fureya hadn't realized how attached to him she'd become and it frightened her slightly. Regardless, she still wished to see him. 

It was a fortnight of patrolling Estharian roadways before it was decided that the yearly sweep was completed. Enough fiends and monsters had been eradicated and the SeeD were released. Next year, the same thing would happen. It was hopeless to eradicate all, but it was possible to control the numbers by a yearly sweeps.

Fureya was ecstatic at the prospect of going back to Garden to see Willard, but she was unaware of the changes that had occurred in the past fortnight. 

~*~

_A week ago_

Willard paced around his small dorm room the small rose envelope clutched gently in his hands. He missed Fureya to the point of near insanity and the letter was very alluring to him.

Ever since they'd been sent home, it had just been small jobs. Help the junior class men with weapons, taking more advanced weaponry lessons and studying even more intricate battle plans. It was menial and boring, but there was little to do. 

Carbuncle was his constant companion and was almost worth a good conversation, but acted gratingly immature at the best of times. He was now curled up sleeping on Willard's pillow. He was also snoring lightly a small line of drool attaching his mouth to the pillowcase, making Will shudder slightly. 

Pausing one last time, Willard ripped the envelope open and pulled out the letter. Standing still, his grey eyes scanned it and read it slowly.

_Dearest Will._

_I miss you and no doubt wish you were with me. I'm not really sure what it is we have; I just know it's special. I really want us to continue. My feelings for you are true and even though I'm not sure, I feel you feel something for me. Maybe I just confused it with whatever it is you feel for the female race. For months I watched you be fickle between other women, even kissing two different girls at the same time. I don't hold anything against you of course, but I wont tolerate it from you._

_Anyway, I hope thing's went well for you in Deling City. I hope my brother wasn't obnoxious; he is cheeky and often exasperates my father and me. Also for some reason he is very shy around girls. It's really funny sometimes. I bet Almasy picked up on it and made fun of him until she was blue in the face. He's as bad as I've heard my father was. Apparently he was ignorant of women until he met Mother. But when I come home, tell me all about it, okay?_

_Take care and wait for me._

_Lots of affection, Fureya._

Willard carefully folded the letter up and slid it back into the envelope and snorted.

"Kaddar shy around girls?" He murmured quietly and grinned, shaking his head in silent mirth. Her other words worried him slightly; he wanted to prove to her that she meant more than the other girls ever did. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully he walked out and left the green creature napping. 

"Kaddar!" Keladryie's voice rang out through the dorm corridor as Willard stepped out. Raising an eyebrow, he looked around and found a red faced Keladryie clenching a fist and waving it the older Leonhart siblings face. 

"You conceited jerk!" She shouted. "I swear I've never met anyone like you ever!" Kaddar grinned and took her fist in his hands.

"I know! I feel the same about you." He said sweetly, confusing her. "Your beauty is unmatched and your personality so unique.  Truly one of a kind!" Keladryie yanked her hand from his grasp and punched him in the arm savagely. 

"Enough already!" She growled and rubbed her hand. "I'll go with you, happy now?" Kaddar grinned and hugged her tightly before whirling away, a faint blush across his cheeks.

"Y'know." Willard spoke up, startling a blushing Keladryie. "Fureya told me he was shy around girls." Keladryie shot him a look that took a year off of his life and stalked away. Willard chuckled to himself and stuck his hands in his pockets and walked on. 

~*~

Keladryie was dressed in a neat black halter neck and jeans when Kaddar met her out the front. He was dressed neatly in cargo pants and a tee. He grinned at her, and she smiled hesitantly back at him.

"Let's go." He said cheerfully and they started to walk towards the town of Balamb; Quistis didn't find that a date was good enough to have use of one of the Garden automobiles. Glancing across at her, Kaddar noted a serene look across her face and smiled to himself. Looking away shyly, he moved closer to her. "Would I be able to hold your hand without you hitting me?" He asked softly. Keladryie blushed and looked down.

"Okay. But only because no one can see." Kaddar grinned and took her hand gently in his. Keladryie sighed and moved a little closer to him.

When they reached town, Keladryie didn't let go of his hand. Kaddar wisely chose not to mention it as he led her to a small diner to get something for dinner. 

They ate in a comfortable silence that was punctuated by soft conversation.

"Did you hear about the drunk that ran into a bar in Deling?" Keladryie raised a questioning eyebrow and Kaddar continued. "He said ouch!" Keladryie grinned and shook her head. 

"That is so lame!" She giggled and rolled her eyes, picking up her soda to take a sip. Kaddar looked off to the right and smiled.

"You're very beautiful when smile." He murmured, causing Keladryie to choke and blush. 

"You shouldn't say shit like that." She growled, focusing really hard on the food in front of her. 

"Why not?" He asked imploringly. "It's the truth."  Keladryie's cheeks were bright pink as she smiled shyly.

"You are such a goof Kaddar." 

After eating, Kaddar took her to get some ice cream and then they started to walk back home. 

Keladryie cleared her throat, staring at her ice cream cone for a moment before speaking.

"Thank you for all this, Kaddar." She murmured softly and licked her ice cream. Kaddar stopped and made her look at him. He smiled at her.

"It was my pleasure." He murmured and leant over, kissing her for a long moment before pulling away. "Mmm. Strawberry Patch flavour. Not to bad." He said cheekily and dodged, expecting a punch. Instead he felt no rush of air as she missed. Looking across at her, he saw she was smiling. Without thinking, he kissed her again before walking on.

They walked the rest of the way home in silence, hand in hand. 

~*~

The news was all over Garden in three days; Keladryie Almasy and Kaddar Leonhart were going out on dates. According to the gossip queen, Bahia Cobalt, neither were admitting or denying anything. Keladryie was given a handful of detentions for picking fights with people who'd made fun of her. Kaddar had just grinned and walked away. 

_Present_

Fureya skipped through the Garden entrance, swinging her duffel happily. 

"The ants go marching seven by seven. Hurrah! hurrah! The ants go marching seven by seven. Hurrah! Hurrah! The ants go marching seven by seven and the little one stoped to. Uhm. Blow his nose! And they all go marching down to underground to get out of the rain. Boom! Boom! boom!" Fureya sang cheerfully. Macen grimaced and punched her in the arm.

"That doesn't rhyme!" He teased, ducking as Fureya swung her bag. "Also, Rei." He added quietly. Can we not tell anyone about Quezacotl and this whole reincarnation yet?" In Esthar, Macen had found alike to Fureya he was joined to a Guardian Force, Quezacotl in particular.

"Sure." Fureya murmured and hit him squarely with her bag.  Macen grunted and retaliated, hitting her with his own. The force knocked the skipping girl over. "Eh?" She grunted and sprang back to her feet. She nimbly leaped on to his back and wrapped her forearms around his neck. "Submit to me Dincht!" She shrieked in his ear loudly. Wincing he grasped her forearms and stooped forwards, throwing her over his head to land on the ground on her back. 

"Take that!" He grinned and let her go; he'd held her so she wouldn't hit the ground hard.

"Dincht." Came a firm female voice. "I don't think that was appropriate behaviour for Garden premises." Macen grinned at the headmistress. 

"Leonhart started it." He said cheerfully as Fureya climbed to her feet.

"Headmistress Trepe." She started and rubbed her back. "I think I need to see the doctor." She moaned and hobbled off towards the infirmary. Macen groaned and pointed at her.

"I know, Macen." Quistis said with a slight grin and walked away, back to whatever she was doing previously.

"You're dead meat Leonhart!" Macen yelled and raced after her. Fureya's injury mysteriously cured itself as she broke into a run.

"Catch me first!" Fureya hugged her duffel to her chest with one arm as she ran. Turning down the corridor to the dorms, she ran into someone and flew backwards. Just before she hit the ground, a hand shot out and caught her wrist, pulling her against a hard chest.

"Your back." A husky voice murmured in her ear, causing her to blush.

"Miss me much, Willard?" She murmured, liking the closeness of him. 

"Miss you much?" Willard murmured. "I missed you so much." He cupped her chin in his hand stared into her dove grey eyes. "Fureya, I'm going to kiss you now and it's going to start something between us. We are going be officially together and you are going to be officially my girl." He murmured huskily as he brought his lips down against hers.

"Whoa!" Macen cried as he rounded the corner and spotted them. "Get a room, yo!" He shouted and ran past them, narrowly missing another couple. 

"Yeah Sis." Kaddar grinned as he watched Macen run past. "Get a room you dirty rabbit." Fureya growled at him and tried to jump him, but Willard tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her back to him.

"I don't believe I've seen this side of your sister before, Kaddar." Keladryie commented dryly, blushing as Kaddar slung an arm across her shoulders and winked at a surprised Fureya.

"What in Hynes name is going on here?" She shot, her eyes wide. "Kaddar making moves on a girl where he can be seen and Keladryie letting a guy be so affectionate with her and blushing? Did the world suddenly go mad?" With each word Fureya's voice seemed to rise.

"They are a bona fide couple." Willard stated, chuckling softly as Fureya gaped.

"Don't say a word, Leonhart." Keladryie stated darkly as Kaddar just grinned at his sister.

"The world _is _nuts." She said flatly.

Willard laughed at Fureya and led her away, towards the dorms. 

"I'm glad your back, Fureya." Willard murmured as they entered her dorm, Amelia was out at the time. Fureya tossed her duffel on the ground and flopped over on to the bed.

"It is good to be home." She admitted and smiled at him. Without warning, he tugged the door shut and crossed the room. He carefully lay on the bed with her and gave her a mischievous grin before kissing her.

~*~

"Kaddar, I got to go make a call." Keladryie murmured, checking her watch. "I'll be back in ten minutes, okay?" Kaddar nodded and watched as his girlfriend slid out of the plastic cafeteria seat and out towards the exit. Calmly, he reached over and finished off her juice with a sly grin. 

Propping his chin in his palm, his elbow leaning against the tabletop, Kaddar chewed a bite of his energy bar thoughtfully, wondering how long til Kella returned. He barely noticed as a strawberry blonde girl slid into the chair next to him. 

"Hey cutie." She said huskily, raising a slender eyebrow as she caught his attention. 

"Uhm. Hi." He mumbled, staring profusely at the table. Annabelle laughed softly and crossed her legs, her blue eyes staring attentively at him. 

"I've been watching you since we met up in Galbadia." She purred and shifted closer to him, raking her fingers across his forearm lightly. Kaddar jumped slightly and shifted away, not saying anything. "Aw c'mon. Don't be so shy."

"I'd appreciate it if you left my boyfriend alone." Keladryie said icily as she returned. "Weren't you content enough in meddling with Fureya's boyfriend Willard that you had to meddle with mine?" Annabelle stood up and flipped a wave of curls over her shoulder snappily. 

"Willard will come back to me when he realizes what he lost." She said snippily and stalked away.

"Willard would never give up Fureya for a tramp like you." Keladryie retorted, drawing a scowl from Annabelle as she turned around.

"What do you care, you're Almasy's brat. Aren't you supposed to hate her after she is a Leonhart? Or are you just playing nice to get into Kaddar's pants?" She snapped, looking at her nails complacently.

"You shut your mouth you bitch." Keladryie yelled, as Kaddar stood up, his face red with rage. 

"Don't you dare talk to my girl like that." He growled and wrapped his arms protectively around Keladryie who was bristling with rage. Annabelle glared sulkily at them and left. 


	16. Kalasin Finity

_~Chapter Fifteen~_

A girl of seventeen with a tumble of rich black curls and subdued violet eyes flecked with hints of silver stood up. Running her slender fingers through her heavy curls, she walked up the stairs. 

"Goodnight, Kali." The older woman murmured not even looking up from her work. Kalasin elegantly sneered at her back before continuing on to her bedroom.

Shutting the door quietly, she traced her finger around the doorframe she invoked a warped version of the silence spell that made it impossible for sound to leave the room.

"Damn infuriating woman." She snarled and threw a book at the door, watching it thud and slide to the ground. 

Striding over to her windowsill, she checked the protective spells and refreshed them. They were to keep from being found out by Odines technology, at least for now. 

Ever since she was a baby, Kalasin had been a sorceress. Her mother had given birth to her on the beach after being startled by a monster had brought on her labour hard and fast. Kalasin was born the day Sorceress Rinoa had died, the minute Rinoa's life had ended, Kalasin's had started. Those circumstances had meant that infant Kalasin was endowed with powers, warping her innocence at an early age. All she ever thought of was using her powers that had unlocked on her fifteenth birthday. Before then, she'd always felt disdain for others and inner feeling of superiority and power. Always fascinated with Sorceresses, after all her birthday was the death day of the last one, Kalasin had researched their power and how they were controlled. She knew how they were tracked and had devised a way to deter them. She was smart, because with the power of previous sorceresses had come their knowledge. Well endowed with power and knowledge, Kalasin was biding her time until the time was right. Ever since Hyne took the throne, it was obvious to every magic wielding sorceress that they were born to rule. The only thing that kept them right was their sense of right and wrong, of their experiences and knowledge. But Kalasin had had the power and knowledge since birth, her whole perspective on life was warped by past. She was doomed to never truly be herself, just the power she held. A soft pinging noise was heard outside Kalasin's window, but she didn't notice. Kalasin was busy painting her nails with a sleek silver polish. Inspecting them closely, she was very much the teenager. 

~*~

Quistis Trepe looked up as Laguna Loire's face flashed up onto her screen.

"We've found the Sorceress." He said grimly. Quistis flew to her feet.

"Where is she?" She demanded hastily, brushing blonde hair out of her eyes.

The buzzing of the intercom roused Fureya awake. She was in bed and surrounded by Willard's warmth, but she wasn't given time to blush maidenly or enjoy the feeling. Quistis's words cut straight through them. 

_"We've just got word from Esthar, traces of non elemental para-magic has been found in Winhill. It is definitely a sorceress's power; the readings are different from the rest. I want SeeDs Leonhart, Trepe, Almasy, Dincht, Kinneas and Dalmasso to report to my office straight away along with Squall and Kaddar."_

The intercom chimed out and Fureya turned her face towards Willard, worry darkening her gaze.

"We should go." She murmured breathlessly. He nodded quietly and climbed out of bed, getting dressed quickly. Fureya quickly followed suit.

"Kaddar." Keladryie said softly and linked her arm through his and together they headed off.

~*~

Assembled in the Headmistresses office, they stood in straggly little groups, starting alertly at Quistis.

"As soon as SeeD Fionn arrives with his aircraft, we shall be leaving immediately. The sorceress must be acquired and sedated if necessary. But under no circumstance is the Sorceress to be killed or profusely harmed. As we all know, under such circumstance she will transfer power." Quistis looked gravely at them. "I chose you because you are young and skilled in different things, you will be led by Squall and Kaddar will be joining you because he is manpower and there's not really a place for him without Squall or Fureya."

~*~

Jan arrived at four am the next morning, the Ragnarok II outfitted for the mission.

At four thirty am, they set off. The group was sleepily alert as they sat in a comfortable silence. Keladryie was curled up with her head on Kaddar's lap as he stroked her soft dark red hair. Fureya was tucked gently on Willard's lap as Macen, Garret and Amelia leant against each other. 

About half way through the trip the vacant area in the aircraft began to shimmer brightly and six odd shaped figures appeared. 

"Yotto!" Carbuncle chirped as he sat on Fureya's lap; he'd been aiming for Willard's but Fureya was in the way. The sparkling slender figure of Shiva sat down next to the couple, her face impassive as Carbuncle clamoured on to her lap. 

"English." She ordered and stroked the creature affectionately. The dark forbidding figure of Diablos was in the shadows behind Keladryie; Quezacotl had furled his great wings and was staring eyelessly at the group as Leviathan coiled around Garrets feet. Ifrit was standing in the middle, observing them as silently as Quezacotl. 

"Well." Ifrit started, his voice deep and rough. "We are finally hunting Hyne again." Shiva cast him a long glance.

"This isn't Hyne, just her descendant." She said coolly as Carbuncle nodded in fierce agreement. 

"Different person, same curse." Leviathan hissed, as Ifrit growled.

"It doesn't matter. We must purge her from this world." He snapped, waving a clawed fist in emphasis.

"Yo, Ifrit." Macen spoke up. "We are under strict instruction not to kill her or even harm her." He put in, his eyebrows raised. Ifrit shrugged his powerful shoulders.

"Your mortal leader doesn't understand the work we must do." Shiva put in coldly. "We must kill her and we must absorb her power or another sorceress will be born, maybe even more." Fureya wrinkled her nose in thought for a moment.

"How do you get many Sorceresses from one? Like Hyne was one, but there became two after her?" Fureya asked softly, yelping slightly as the aircraft jolted. Willard tightened his arms around her silently.

"If the Sorceress is forced to transfer her power and the recipient rejects it with all their heart, they only receive half of the powers and the remnants of the power get infused in someone else." Diablos said curtly, as if annoyed she didn't already know.

"Are you saying my mother became a sorceress because a little part of her wanted to?" Fureya demanded softly. Shiva put a gentle cool hand on her arm and shook her head.

"The shock of when your mother got the powers was so strong, she didn't have time to resist. She was even comatose for a while after." Shiva glanced over at Squall who nodded gravely. "Rinoa was the strongest Sorceress before she died, as strong as Hyne herself. She carried all of the power within her heart and her heart was strong enough to resist the pull of evil. Which is why we must find this sorceress, she will probably retain all of Hynes power and unless she has a strong sense of what's wrong and what's right, she wont be friendly."

Diablos nodded as if agreeing with Shiva.

"We are going to whoop some Sorceress ass!" Carbuncle chirped, causing the tension to disappear. "Like this!" He bounded out of Shiva's lap and bounced really high and came down, kicking his long green feet out against Diablo's leathery chest. "Akuryo Taisan!" Carbuncle cried out loudly. Diablos didn't even blink as he swatted the creature away.

"What does 'Akuryo taisan' mean?" Fureya asked, stifling a giggle as Carbuncle climbed happily back into Shiva's lap.

"It means 'evil spirit be gone' basically." Leviathan hissed tiredly before disappearing a spray of silver droplets. Garret grunted slightly as felt the coolness of Leviathans presence in his mind. Following suit, the Guardians with the exception of Carbuncle who moved to Fureya's lap, took their former positions in their host's minds. 

~*~

When they landed, Squall pulled out his tracking device that Laguna had sent through Jan. 

"The power was sensed about 100 metres from here." He commented before pocketing it again. 

Walking to the said position, they found it was Laguna's old home, from the time when Ellone had sent Squall to his past. Fureya was the one who went to knock on the door, Carbuncle wrapped across her shoulders. 

A girl with black curls, looking about seventeen opened up the door.

"May I help you?" She said sweetly. Almost instantly Carbuncle let out a shrill shriek and launched himself at her, his soft green paws tipped with deadly looking silver claws. The claws caught on her cheek, ripping the flesh open.

"Sorceress!" Fureya gasped as Kalasin swatted the creature away. Carbuncle disappeared into Willard and almost instantly Willard's eyes turned a ruby red. The rest of the chosen's eyes changed as the Guardian Forces assumed their bodies forcefully. 

"Squall. Kaddar. Get back!" Ifrit/Amelia demanded, her dark red eyes furious as she extended a hand and blasted Kalasin with fire. The fire was repelled as Kalasin swore and cast reflect.

Carbuncle/Willard instantly jumped forward, weapon drawn. Kalasin screamed a word and he was thrown back. Almost instantly, bolts of lightning and sharp looking icicles rained down on the girl. They were easily deflected. 

It wasn't long before the noises brought the towns people out to see Kalasin being attacked by strangers.

"You fool!" Kalasin shrieked, her voice nearly inhuman with rage. "Do you really think your petty magic's can stop me?" The years of suppressed anger was starting to shine through. Flicking her hand out against them, she threw up a shield that contained the attackers. Sneering, she grabbed Kaddar with a binding spell and suspended him in the air with float. 

Pausing in mid stride as she turned away, she stared at Squall.

"Thank you for killing your wife." She sneered. "It made me the person I am today." With that she turned and strode off to where the aircraft was parked, beckoning for the spelled Kaddar to follow.

Squall let out a furious scream and launched himself at the barrier, clawing it at til his hands bled.

Behind Fureya, Carbuncle let out a soft whiffling noise. Shiva/Fureya turned and froze with wide blue eyes; Carbuncle was nudging the lifeless body of Willard. Fureya/Shiva raced over and dropped to her knees next to Willard. He smelt slightly of smoke as Fureya/Shiva pressed fingers against his neck.

Keladryie stared at the shield; her eyes threatening to spill held back tears as she watched the bright red aircraft take off. Kaddar had been used as a bargaining tool so the Sorceress could escape. Clenching a fist, she glared at it her eyes loosing their blackness as her consciousness won control. 

A tear slipped down Fureya/Shiva's cheek, catching Carbuncle's attention.

"Shiva, why are you crying?" He was confused by the emotions he'd never seen on his sister's face. 

"Its not me." She baffled, bringing her hands up to her face as the blueness of her eyes faded to grey. Fureya looked up at the sky, the sight fizzled by the shield. Fureya thumped a hand down on his chest fiercely and rested her head on his chest, tears building up in the corners of her eyes.

"Willard you asshole." She whispered hoarsely. "You can't leave. We need you now, to fight the sorceress. I need you!" She sniffed, oblivious to the motion of his chest. "I love you. You can't leave me!" Tears slowly tracked a path down her face. 

Willard let out a soft snort and pushed her off.

"I'm not dead so you can stop your mourning." He groaned and sat up, only to be knocked over as Fureya pounced on him. "Carbuncle threw himself out of me and threw up a shield, but it knocked me out." He murmured and kissed Fureya's forehead. Looking over head at the others, he noted they were themselves. He also noted Keladryie's forlorn figure at the edge of the shield. "We have to break the confines and go get Kaddar back." He said and stood up, picking Fureya up in his arms and cradling her quietly. Squall nodded and looked around for a solution, resting a sympathetic hand on Keladryie's shoulder.  


	17. Joyride

_~Chapter Sixteen~_

Jan was sitting in the cockpit of the Ragnarok II, his eyes focused forward as he regarded the strange girl who had dragged a still Kaddar to the ship. She'd told him with a serene innocent face that the Sorceress had injured this boy and the others were busy holding their own against her to help him. She'd told him worriedly that they should go to Esthar to treat him; Esthar because they dealt best with Sorceresses and everything to do with them.

They were now crossing ocean to Esthar and he could see the girl cradling Kaddar's head in her lap, stroking his hair gently. Narrowing his hazel eyes, he couldn't help think that something was a miss. For starters, Kaddar didn't look visibly injured he was just out cold but Sorceresses powers were unpredictable. While the boy was unconscious, Jan felt he had to do as the girl asked, it seemed too much a risk to take.

Squall narrowed his eyes and drew his gunblade and attacked the shield viciously, firing of a few shots. The shots rang out loudly as the ricocheted off the shield. 

"Jesus!" Willard swore as he dropped to the ground with the others. The icy form of Shiva appeared and froze the bullets in mid air as they headed for the other side of the shield.

"Carbuncle." Shiva ordered as the frozen bullets fell to the ground. Carbuncle squeaked and uncovered his ruby eyes before jumping up into the air. Placing his furred green feet on the barrier, he let out a high-pitched squeak and the shield shattered.

"Why didn't you do that earlier dude?" Macen enquired as Squall raced into the bar, demanding use of a phone. 

~*~

Back at Balamb, they stood in front of the Balamb Headmistress.

"Jan and Kaddar are okay." She murmured. "Jan caught onto the Sorceress before he reached Esthar. He resisted her and ended up crashing into the Estharian desert. They are at the Estharian Sorceress Memorial with only minor injuries, but the girl escaped. We've found her name is Kalasin Finity and some of the other information we've received is really bad." Quistis took a breath, glancing at a relieved Keladryie. "Kalasin was born the day Rinoa died which means she isn't herself. Her whole personality is a mixture of all the previous Sorceresses. Which means she must be captured." Fureya chewed her lip for a moment before stepping forward.

"Headmistress. We can finish this." She stated clearly. "We have been endowed with the powers of Hyne's children and possess the ability to wipe out all traces of Sorceresses in this world, but we'd have to kill her to draw the power out of her." Quistis's eyebrow rose and she nodded slowly.

"I'm not sure what you mean, but according to Squall's report I think it may be possible."  She murmured thoughtfully. "I'll send you to tear's point. It's where she was last seen, she can't of got far and President Loire made it impossible for her or anyone to leave Estharian land." 

~*~

Keladryie paced in her dorm restlessly before exploding in a fury of curses.

"Damn that Sorceress." She shouted, not noticing as her dorm door slid open. "Damn her to all things painful!" She ran fingers through her dyed hair impatiently and tugged at the end.

"Are you alright, Kella?" Fureya murmured softly, startling Keladryie. Keladryie looked up at her huffily.

"Of course I'm alright! It's your stupid brother that's not!" She fumed, her shoulders shaking fiercely. Impulsively, Fureya crossed the room and hugged her sometimes friend.

"I have an idea." She murmured and pulled back, looking into Kella's green eyes. "There's a small Aerial Fighter that Quistis keeps for emergencies,, we should go give my brother a few lumps and meet the others at Tear's Point." Keladryie looked down at her, a smirk on her face.

"I'm all for it."

~*~

"Fureya did what?" Willard exclaimed as Quistis coolly handed him a note.

_Dad, Will, Auntie Quisty._

_Gone for a little trip with Almasy._

_Meet you at Tear's Point tomorrow._

- _Fureya._

_P.s – Took spare fighter._

Squall rubbed his forehead as Willard shredded the note calmly. 

"I'm going after her." He hissed coolly and tossed the paper on the floor.

"No." Quistis said sharply. "They took the last available transport, you have to wait til Jan tomorrow when we leave by the first train." Willard narrowed his eyes at his mother, knowing she was right. There were no more available trains for today. Stalking out of the office, he clenched his fists in severe annoyance as he thought about what he was going to do to her. First he was going to shake her, then lecture her and then kiss her. Running white knuckled fingers through his hair, mussing it up.

"This is not good." Squall remarked quietly as he watched the door slam shut behind Willard. Quistis nodded in agreement and turned her gaze to her desk, punching in a few numbers in her numpad. A few seconds later, Laguna Loire's face appeared on screen.

"Father." Squall spoke up impatiently, not allowing Quistis to get a word in. "Fureya has taken our spare aircraft and is more than likely headed for Esthar. If she crosses through the barrier, can you inform us of when and where she's headed?" Laguna's eyes widened in slight shock.

"Sure. I'll get Kiros on it right away." He paused and glanced at the pair. "Quistis, Squall." He nodded politely before ending the transmission.

Willard's patience had almost completely worn out with Fureya. Sitting down on his bed, he clasped his head wearily in his hands and sighed. A mottled blush spread across his cheeks as he remembered their time spent together in her dorm. He also remembered the emotion in her voice when she had said one of the words that were silently forbidden between them.  Fureya had said she loved him.  

He scrubbed his face with his hands, silently annoyed. 

"She loves me." He whispered. "She gives herself to me, she tells me she loves me and then she leaves me here." Annoyance was a sour taste on his tongue and fire inside his belly. He had a few good words to say to her. But also, he wanted to be with her and make sure she was safe, not that he doubted her capability, just worried.

On the other hand, he was a little unsure about his feelings to her. He didn't know if he loved her, he needed her and wanted her. Was it just lust like the other girls, but then again he'd never felt so attached to another girl. 

Growling, he stood up and tugged at his hair furiously.

"If I don't love her then why do I feel so empty and annoyed that she left me here?" He demanded to the wall.

~*~

Fureya laughed insanely as she switched the aircraft off and stood up, working the kinks out of her back.

"Now that was a wild ride!" She cheered brightly. Keladryie reluctantly let go of the bulkhead she was clinging too and stood up.

"You are insane!" She blurted out and darted down the thin ramp that lead down to the ground. "Oh solid ground!" Fureya grinned brightly and closed up the aircraft and ran up the Memorial Steps.

"Hurry up or I'll have to kill my moronic brother!" She teased. Keladryie grimaced and raced up the stairs.

"Not if I can help it!" She challenged and overtook a laughing Fureya.

"Kella?" A soft voice enquired as she entered. Keladryie turned to see Kaddar sitting on the ground, his left forearm wrapped in a heavy bandage.

"Kaddar?" Keladryie raced over and dropped to her knees, hugging him tightly. "Your okay!" His chest muffled her voice. 

"Of course I am Kella." He murmured and ran a hand over her hair lightly.

Fureya grinned slyly at the pair before taking a seat next to the other person in the quiet memorial.

"Jan Fionn right?" She asked. He nodded.

"Fureya Leonhart, granddaughter of the Estharian President." He replied cheerfully. Fureya nodded.

"Guilty as charged." Pausing, she looked at his cheek. "Kaddar patched you up, didn't he?" She asked, pointing to the crooked sticking plaster on his cheekbone.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Jan asked surprised, ignoring Kaddar and Kella as they kissed. Fureya reached up and pulled off the plaster, making Jan jump slightly.

"Because it's on wrong." Changing positions so she was sitting on her knees, she reached for the kit that had been pulled from the totalled Ragnarok II. Carefully, she cleaned up his cheek and the rest of his wounds.

"Thanks." He murmured as she sat back down. "Why are you here anyway?"

"To rescue my bonehead of a brother before he drove you insane." Fureya grinned as he laughed.

"Just in time then." He teased and leant against the wall tiredly.

"Was she as twisted as they said she was?" Fureya asked softly, focusing on her hands. Jan looked at her for a long moment.

"Yeah, she is." He murmured simply and patted her shoulder lightly. "But don't worry, I have faith in you guys. Nobody can stand up to trained SeeDs for too long." Fureya smiled up at him affectionately. 

"Thanks."  She paused. "So why are you waiting here anyway?" Jan grimaced.

"Estharian aircraft are doing sweeps of the area and told us to sit tight until morning." He grumbled. "How'd you get here anyway?"

"Stole Balambs emergency aircraft." She said cheerfully. Jan let loose a roar of laughter and shook his head.

"You are so going to catch it for that!" Fureya grinned and nodded.

"Yep. And I get the sinking feeling Willard will get slightly mad at me for leaving him behind." She sighed wistfully. "But I believe I can be cute enough to be forgiven." Jan laughed again and shook his head.

"Your crazy." He murmured and ruffled her hair.

~*~

They spent the night there, Kaddar and Kella cuddled up together and Fureya and Jan huddled for warmth; the Sorceress Memorial had been abandoned since Rinoa was decreed the only living Sorceress. 

Waking up the next morning, all their clothes wrinkled and their hair mussed, Keladryie stood up and tried to smooth wrinkles out of her black trench coat and smooth her hair down. 

"I can't fight the Sorceress looking like this." She whined.

"You never know." Commented Fureya, stretching. "You might scare her to death." Keladryie glared at her as Kaddar and Jan stifled laughter.

"You are so not funny Leonhart." She snorted and walked outside to get some fresh air, with Kaddar trailing behind her. Jan grinned down at her and offered her a hand up.

"You going to come to Tears point with us?" Fureya asked as she stood up. Jan shook his head.

"I was told to wait here. Unlike you, I think I might obey orders every now and then." He said wickedly causing Fureya to blush.

"I do follow orders!" She retorted before finishing the sentence under her breath. "When it's convenient." 


	18. Final Battle

_~Chapter Seventeen~_

Jumping out of the rental car Willard raced through the pillars in Tears Point and stopped at the centre. Fureya trotted up to him and threw her arms around his neck.

"Willard!" She smiled at him. But her smile faded as he shrugged off her embrace, looking grim. "Willard?" She asked tentatively. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" He repeated. "You ran off and left me behind without any sort of a goodbye." He caught her wrists in his hands tightly. "You can't do that." Fureya shrank back and caught her bottom lip in her teeth.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Reya." He sighed and released her hands, turning away. Fureya reached out for him, but he walked away out of her reach.

"Will!" She cried out and threw her self at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her cheek against his back. "I love you Willard Trepe! I don't care that its one sided but I wont let you go!" Willard froze, an anger rising in him. Turning he unwrapped her arms and faced her.

"I do love your Fureya!" He said forcefully, his words surprising himself. Fureya took a step back, her face mottled pink.

"Will.." She stammered. Will just narrowed his gaze slightly and walked away. Squall sauntered up and put a hand on his shoulder gently holding her back.

"Give him time." He advised quietly as Kaddar and Keladryie joined them. Squall narrowed his eyes as he realized. "You two girls are in a lot of trouble when Quistis gets her hands on you. And you Fureya Julia Leonhart are in even more trouble." Fureya grinned sheepishly and fled over to where Macen, Garret and Amelia were standing.

"Reya!" Macen yelled and hi-fived her. "What's up girl?" Fureya grinned and ruffled his blonde locks. "Oi! The hair dude!" He grunted and swung a punch at her. Fureya grinned and skipped out of reach. 

"Too slow!" She grinned. Garret moved like a flash and grasped her around the waist, picking up her slight frame easily.

"Get her Macen!" He shouted, spitting out a mouthful of raven hair. Macen grinned and dodged a kicking leg. Grabbing the ankle firmly, he yanked and made Fureya squeal.

"Your so mean!" She laughed. Macen and Garret exchanged a glance and dropped her in the same moment. "Ouch." She growled, climbing to her feet as she rubbed her ass. "You guys are so gonna pay for that."

"I don't think now is a good time." Squall said dryly and grabbed Fureya's shirt collar, pulling her back.

"Aww Dad." She whined. Squall silenced her with a glance.

"I found a trace of para magic!" Keladryie called, her voice shaking slightly. Kaddar who'd be focusing on his sister's antics was surprised that she wasn't next to him.

"Where are you Kella?" He called and walked around the pillar near them. He instantly stopped short as he rounded the corner. Keladryie was surrounding by faintly glimmering rings that bound her arms to her sides. At her throat was held a very sharp looking blade that was cradled in the thin pale hand of Sorceress Kalasin.

"Sorceress!" Snarled Willard as his eyes blazed ruby. Holding out a hand, he blew apart the binding on Keladryie. A dark eyed Keladryie grasped the blade, slitting her palm as she wrenched it from the Sorceresses grasp. Reversing it, she fiercely stabbed it in to her gut.

Kalasin's eyes widened as she staggered back, her hands around the hilt. Suddenly, her eyes glowed red and she wrenched the dagger out of her stomach. The wound healed instantly with a flash of soft green light.

Reacting quickly, Willard threw an impenetrable shield over them, locking them in until either he died or released it.

"It's over Hyne." Garret hissed and thrust his hands forward, a wave of icy blue water swamping the slender form of Kalasin.  Almost instantly the water froze and shattered.

Kalasin's face was contorted in a fierce snarl, her eyes bright red. 

"You pathetic fools! I am the Sorceress! I am the being created by magic!" She roared and held her hands out in front of her. Almost instantly Fureya leaped forward, snow swirling around her form as she encased the Sorceress in ice. Clicking her fingers, she shattered it, inflicting an array of flesh wounds on her body. As Kalasin healed, Amelia called forth a meteor of burning fire that encased the figure in fire. Kalasin screamed her fury and lashed out with magick, but Willard was on guard, throwing up shields before they could harm anyone. 

As Keladryie pelted Kalasin with balls of dark energy, a glowing dagger formed in Willard's hand. 

Circling her as Macen drew Kalasin's attention with bolts of blue white lightening. Darting forward, he thrust the dagger through the small of her back.

"Akuryo Taisan!" He yelled and Kalasin was enveloped in soft green light. Almost instantly, the others formed a loose circle around her. Their hands outstretched as they pooled their power between them. When the power levels peaked they thrust them towards the life form they surrounded.

Pulsing with fatal energy, Kalasin screamed and fell to her knees. Thrusting out her hands, she encased Amelia and Macen in flames, burning them alive as she died. 

Fureya watched in slow motion as the Sorceress fell to her knees and then thrust the last of her power out. Fureya didn't see her friends burn, but she saw Kalasin fall into the snow, and her eyes flutter shut. A few drawn out seconds later, Fureya's world shone a bright white before everything faded to black as she passed out. 

Willard's consciousness took over as Fureya crumpled to the ground.

"Reya!" He cried as he raced over and scooped her in his arms. He touched her face gently, shocked by its coldness. Shiva appeared next to him and smiled at him.

"Fureya's okay." Shiva glanced over her should to where Carbuncle was standing. "Please release the barrier." She ordered before walking over to where the charred corpses of Macen and Amelia lay. Kneeling, Shiva passed a hand over them, returning them to their normal unburnt state. "I can't revive them, but I can undo the damage." She said mournfully as Diablos came over whilst Leviathan looked on grimly. "Quezacotl and Ifrit, Macen Dincht and Amelia Kinneas." Squall walked over and stared down at the dead as Carbuncle lowered the barrier. Kaddar raced over and scooped Keladryie up in his arms, kissing her soundly.

Squall narrowed his eyes as he stared at the unmarked body of Kalasin spare the knife wound in her back.

"Where did her magic go? I swear I saw it go into to Fureya." He demanded, glaring at Shiva. Shiva nodded and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Fureya took in the Sorceresses power, but because I was there, it's in me. I finally have the thing I came for." Shiva paused and looked at him hesitantly. Slowly her features began to change and she shortened. Her soft blue hair darkened to a raven colour as her skin paled and her eyes darkened.

"Squall." Rinoa said softly, looking the age she had when she died. Squall stared at her in disbelief.

"Rinny?" He rasped hoarsely and stepped forward. Rinoa put up her hands to stop him.

"I'm dead Squall, but before Shiva leaves she let me say goodbye. She said it wasn't fair I didn't get to before." Rinoa swallowed, noting the confusion of everyone's faces. "My personality and memories were transferred along with my powers as with most Sorceresses." She stepped forward and laid a hand on Squall's cheek. "I love you Squall." She murmured and pressed her lips against his briefly. "I wanted you to save my baby, you did the right thing." She whispered. Moving away from him, she laid her gaze on Kaddar as he stepped forward. 

"Mum…" He whispered and hugged her tightly.

"My little boy has grown up so big." She murmured and glanced over his shoulder at Keladryie. "You've got a good girl there Kaddy, don't let her get away." She warned softly and smiled at Keladryie. Turning away from her son, Rinoa walked over and kneeled next to Fureya's unconscious form. "She looks like me." She murmured in awe and brushed some of the raven hair off of her daughter's forehead as Willard looked at her awkwardly. Squall came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"She has my eyes." He commented as Rinoa kissed Fureya's forehead lightly.

"Willard Trepe, take care of my baby girl. Your everything to her." She murmured and stood up. "Squall I have to go now." She whispered softly.

"No!" He yelled and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Don't leave me again." He pleaded as Rinoa started to fade.

"I have to Squall. I love you." She murmured before disappearing completely. Squall fell to his knees and stared at the spot where she'd been. He wasn't miserable or upset, but happy she was finally at peace. Keladryie looked around and noticed all the other Guardians had faded.

"Typical." She whispered. "No thank you or goodbyes." She also noted that Macen, Amelia and Kalasin's bodies were gone. "It's over." She whispered softly.


	19. Epilogue

_~Epilogue~ _

When Fureya woke again, she was cradled in her fathers embrace as he carried her up the steps of the Garden.

"I had a dream." She murmured groggily. "I saw Mum, she was an angel and she kissed my forehead." She murmured in awe. Smiling slightly, Squall chose not to mention it had really happened.

"That was a sweet dream baby." He murmured as he took a left towards the infirmary.

"Not infirmary." Fureya said quietly. "Take me to my dorm. I'm just tired." Squall raised an eyebrow but did as he was told. As Fureya sat on the end of her bed, she looked at the photo of her ex-roommate. "Amelia and Macen, I cant believe they are gone." She whispered. Squall nodded and hugged his daughter gently. 

"I know. I'm going to tell their parents now, face to face." He said softly. Fureya wished him luck and laid down, falling asleep tiredly.

~*~

Kaddar and Keladryie were curled up in Kella's dorm, sleeping quietly. Everyone was tired after defeating the Sorceress and at a bit of a loss. Keladryie knew she was more than just infatuated with Squall Leonharts son; she was in love with him. And for the first time the thought of being in love warmed her instead of scaring her. Snuggling closer to him, she smiled and tucked her head under his chin. Leonhart or not, it was love and she wasn't going to let him go for the life of her.

"I love you Kaddar." She whispered, her voice barely audible. His arms tightened around her and pulled her closer to him.

"I love you too Kella." He murmured sleepily against her hair.

~*~

Willard entered Fureya's dorm silently and sat down next to her bed, watching as she slept peacefully. Rinoa's words floated through his mind and he gently roused her with a kiss.

"Willard?" Fureya murmured, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Willard reached up and pulled her down off the bed and into his lap.

"Sorry to wake you Reya, but this is important." He murmured into her ear. Fureya looked up at him solemnly and tilted her head.

"What is it?" She enquired, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Fureya I love you." He murmured into her ear and picked up her hand and slid a thin silver band onto her ring finger. "This is a promise ring. When we are old enough, I'm going to marry you." He promised and kissed her softly. She returned the kiss in silent acceptance, as her cheeks flamed. 

~*~

"And so, for those very reasons this world is purged of every trace of Sorceresses. And we have Fureya, Willard, Amelia, Macen, Garret and Keladryie to thank for this. Especially Macen and Amelia who gave their lives for a better world." Quistis concluded and stepped down from the platform.

It was really over, SeeD still existed but as simple mercenaries. There would still be battles, money and love as well as feuds, petty differences and revenge. But the greatest threat was gone for good; Sorceresses had become extinct. 

Kaddar and Keladryie were happy, Keladryie was still a SeeD and Kaddar often spent the night in her dorm.

Fureya and Willard continued to be top SeeD members, whilst sharing a single dorm, much to Squall and Quistis's chagrin. 

Garret was also still SeeD and still also taunted his remaining friends. 

Things were back to normal, but with the painful empty gap that once was Macen and Amelia.

Life always moves on, it was no different here. 


End file.
